LOUIS  THE  FOURTEENTH, 

AND 

THE   COURT   OF  FRANCE, 

IN 

THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY. 
BY  MISS  PARDOE. 

AUTHOR    OF    "THE    CITY    OF    THE    SULTAN,"   ETC. 


IN     TWO      VOLUMES*. 

VOL.    I. 


NEW    YORK: 
HARPER  &  BROTHERS,    PUBLISHERS, 

H2    CLIFF    STREET 
184  7. 


.    RAflVARD  COLLESE  LIBRARY 
>p\       BEQUEST  OF 
ARTHUR  STUART  WALCOT1 
JUNE  1,  1923 


DC 

fill 

ISH7 


TO 


JOHN  HEARNE,  ESQ,, 

THIS     RECORD     OF     THE     REIGN     OF     LOUIS     XIV.,     AND     THE 
MANNERS     OF    HIS    COURT, 

IS 

SUost  affectionately  Knscrtoett, 


THE    AUTHOR. 


PREFACE. 


The  reign  of  Louis  XIV.  of  France,  whether  regard- 
'ed  politically,  socially,  or  morally,  was  undoubtedly  the 
most  striking  which  that  country  has  ever  known.  The 
magnificence  of  his  court,  the  successes  of  his  armies, 
and  the  number  of  illustrious  names  that  embellished 
the  century  over  which  his  rule  extended,  drew  the  at- 
tention of  all  Europe  to  the  person  of  the  monarch  who 
had  relieved  the  nation  from  the  unnatural  thrall  to 
which  it  had  so  long  been  subjected  by  the  domination 
of  a  grasping  and  imperious  minister,  and  assumed  the 
authority  and  power  of  regality,  as  well  as  its  mere 
visible  attributes. 

Louis  XIV.  was  kingly  from  his  birth.  Even  when 
deprived,  by  the  penuriousness  of  Mazarin,  not  only  of 
the  luxuries  which  were  his  birthright,  but  even  of  the 
very  necessaries  which  nine  tenths  of  his  subjects  could 
command  at  will,  his  spirit  remained  unbent ;  while  his 
innate  sense  of  the  indignity  offered  to  his  person  en- 
gendered a  feeling  of  hatred  toward  the  Cardinal,  which 
enabled  him  patiently  to  await  the  hour  of  his  emanci- 
pation. FjChild  as  he  was,  he  spurned  at  pity,  and  con- 
sequently uttered  no  complaint ;  but  kept  his  eye  firmly 
fixed  upon  that  future  whose  perspective  was  a  throne, 
and  whose  watchword  was  empire. 

That  Louis  XIV.  was,  throughout  his  reign,  a  great 
king,  must  be  conceded  at  once ;  but  that  he  was  ever 


VI  FKEFACE. 

a  great  man  is  considerably  more  doubtful.  Supremely 
egotistical,  he  never  hesitated  in  compelling  the  sacri- 
fice of  whatsoever  opposed  or  impeded  his  personal 
interests,  passions,  or  views :  xecJdessly  inconstant,  he 
trampled  unmoved  upon  the  affections  whicfi  he  had 
called  forth;  and,  tediously  and  childishly  minute  in 
the  observances  and  etiquet  of  his  exalted  station,  he 
frequently  frittered  away  the  time,  rendered  precious 
by  circumstances,  in  puerile  elaborations  and  unmean- 
ing detail. 

We  are  not  about  to  offer  to  our  readers  an  histori- 
cal record  of  the  century  of  Louis  XIV.,  as  the  term 
would  be  understood  by  statesmen  and  politicians ;  for 
we  shall  pass  lightly  over  the  campaigns,  the  battles, 
and  the  intrigues  of  the  several  European  cabinets, 
upon  which  a  firmer  hand  than  our  own  has  very  re- 
cently been  employed  in  this  country.  Our  aim  will 
simply  be  to  display  more  fully  than  has  yet  been  done 
the  domestic  life  of  the  "  Great  Monarch,"  and  to  pass 
in  review  the  wits,  the  beauties,  and  the  poets  of  his 
court.  For  this  purpose  we  shall  select,  from  the  stores 
of  the  many  biographers  of  the  time,  all  that  may  tend 
to  perfect  the  portraiture  which  we  have  undertaken  ; 
simply  premising  that  we  shall  put  forth  neither  fact 
nor  anecdote  which  is  not  fully  authenticated  either  by 
one  of  the  chroniclers  of  the  time,  or  verified  by  some 
competent  recent  authority. 

Perhaps,  for  a  task  like  that  now  before  us,  no  reign 
has  afforded  so  many  and  such  rich  materials.  The 
passion  for  personal  narrative,  of  which  Marguerite  de 
Valois  displayed  so  extraordinary  an  example  in  royal 
life,  afterward  spread  like  an  epidemic  in  the  Court  of 
France;  and,  under  Louis  XIV.,  princesses,  warriors, 
statesmen,  courtiers,  and  beauties,  vied  with  each  other 


PREFACE.  VJ1 

in  recording,  not  only  passing  events,  but  also  the  indi- 
vidual passions,  interests,  and  prejudices  by  which  they 
were  influenced  ;  and,  while  amazed  and  breathless 
Europe  saw  only  the  working  of  the  great  monarchical 
engine,  by  whose  movements  it  was  affected  through- 
out its  whole  extent,  the  denizens  of  the  most  gorgeous 
court  the  world  had  ever  known,  in  the  intervals  of 
their  devotions,  their  dissipation,  and  their  intrigues, 
still  found  time  to  emulate  the  professional  writers  of 
the  age,  and  to  record  the  hidden  and  intricate  springs 
by  which  it  was  forced  into  action.  Not  a  word,  not  a 
gesture,  not  a  weakness  of  the  monarch  escaped  either 
his  friends  or  his  enemies,  or  was  suffered  to  remain 
unchronicled ;  the  hopes  or  the  attachments  of  the  first 
made  them  dwell  with  adulation  and  delight  upon  every 
brilliant  quality  which  they  discovered  in  their  idol ; 
while  the  jealousies  and  the  vindictiveness  of  the  last 
caused  them  to  batten  upon  every  failing,  and  to  dilate 
upon  every  vice. 

It  is  from  these  materials,  then,  that  we  propose  to 
work  out  a  whole,  which  may  enable  our  readers  to 
estimate  the  character  of  Louis  XIV.,  not  merely  as  a 
monarch,  but  also  as  a  man.  The  severe  historian  has 
to  deal  only  with  his  conquests,  the  internal  economy 
of  his  reign,  and  its  influence  over  the  other  nations  of 
Europe.  His  sterner  pen  traces  only  the  broad  outline 
of  events,  and  condescends  merely  to  portray  the  prom- 
inent personages  who  figure  in  its  annals.  Like  the 
eagle,  he  embraces  the  whole  glory  of  the  orb  upon 
which  he  gazes,  and  does  not  pause  to  cast  a  glance 
upon  the  inferior  objects  which  are  vivified  and  nour- 
ished by  its  warmth ;  and  it  is,  consequently,  to  the 
personal  memoirs  of  the  time  that  we  are  indebted  for 
the  power  of  looking  more  closely  and  more  curiously 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

at  a  phase  of  society  as  extraordinary  as  it  is  interest- 
ing, and  of  comprehending  the  minuter  shades  of  indi- 
vidual character. 

To  the  historian  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.  is  like  the 
kaleidoscope,  of  which  every  evolution  presents  a  new 
phase  of  harmony  and  beauty ;  but  to  the  more  humble 
chronicler,  captivated  as  he  can  not  fail  to  be  by  its 
general  effect,  it  loses  somewhat  of  its  splendor — com- 
pelled as  he  is  to  dismount  the  machine,  and  by  observ- 
ing analytically  the  concomitant  atoms  from  whence 
proceed  the  marvelous  combinations  which,  as  a  whole, 
produce  such  wonderful  effects,  to  recognize  the  utter 
worthlessness  of  many  of  its  details. 

Some  indulgence  must  be  conceded  to  the  writer 
who  is  called  upon  to  examine  and  to  combine  such  in- 
congruous materials,  especially  when  it  is  remembered 
that  the  familiar  annals  of  a  court  three  centuries  ago 
bear  no  analogy  with  those  destined  to  record  the  hab- 
its, the  manners,  and  the  morals  of  our  own.  The  oaths 
ever  upon  the  lips  of  the  courtiers  of  Louis  XIII. — and 
which  Anne  of  Austria  had,  according  to  Dangeau, 
great  difficulty  in  suppressing  even  upon  those  of  her 
son — and  the  indecent  masquerading  of  some  of  the 
first  personages  composing  the  royal  circle  of  the  Lou- 
vre in  the  "  Great  Century,"  would  very  rationally  cre- 
ate consternation  alike  at  St.  James's  and  the  Tuileries 
in  the  present  day. 

February, 1847. 


CONTENTS 

OF 

THE    FIRST    VOLUME. 


CHAPTER  I. 

1615-24. 
Reign  of  Louis  XIV. — Retrospective  Glance — Children  of  Louia  XIII. 
— Policy  of  Marie  de  Medicis — The  Royal  Favorite — His  Pedigree — 
Matrimonial  Exchange — Anne  of  Austria ;  her  Portrait — Royal  Mar- 
riage —  The  Cardinal  de  Richelieu  —  Assassination  of  the  Marshal 
d'Ancre — Ingratitude  of  Richelieu — Richelieu  and  the  Queen-Mother 
— Anecdote  related  by  Bassompierre — Escape  of  Marie  de  Medicis 
from  Blois — Abortive  Rebellion — Submission  of  the  Queen-Mother — 
Subtilty  of  Richelieu — Madame  de  Chevreuse — Levity  of  Anne  of 
Austria — Gaston,  Duke  dAnjou — Jealousy  of  Louis  XIII. ;  his  fail- 
ing Health — Richelieu  in  Masquerade — The  Discovery — Feud  be- 
tween the  Queen  and  the  Cardinal — Disgraceful  Rumors    .  Page  13 

CHAPTER  II. 

1624-26. 
Embassy  of  the  Earl  of  Carlisle — Lord  Rich — Demand  of  the  Hand  of 
Henrietta-Maria  for  the  Prince  of  Wales — Assent  of  Louis  XIH. — 
Conditions — Lord  Rich  and  the  Duke  of  Buckingham — A  new  Em- 
bassy—  Buckingham  in  Paris  —  The  scattered  Pearls  —  Passion  of 
Buckingham  for  Anne  of  Austria — Price  of  a  Court  Lady — The  Fete 
— The  King's  Present — Disguises  of  the  English  Duke — The  Masque 
— The  White  Lady — The  Royal  Marriage — The  Court  at  Amiens — 
Courtly  Festivities — Tender  Regrets — A  garden  Interview — Unhappy 
Result — Parting  between  Anne  of  Austria  and  Buckingham — Deten- 
tion of  the  Bride  of  Charles  I. — The  Messenger — Return  of  Bucking- 
ham and  Lord  Rich  to  Amiens — Interview  of  the  Duke  with  Anne 
of  Austria — The  Aiguillette — New  Leave-taking — Embarkation  of  the 
Bride  —  Intrigues  of  Marie  de  Medicis  —  A  suspicious  Argument — 
Surveillance  of  the  young  Queen  —  The  missing  Aiguillette  —  The 
Bride  —  The  triumphant  Minister  —  The  City  Ball — Tranquillity  of 
Anne  of  Austria— Defeat  of  the  Cardinal— The  Secret  revealed— 
vol.  i. — A 


2  CONTENTS. 

Distrust  of  Louis  XIII. — The  Romance  of  Chalais — The  Conspiracy 
— The  Duke  d'Anjou — The  Princess  of  Vendome — Proposed  Assas- 
sination of  Richelieu — The  Cardinal  at  Fleury — The  Hunt — Indis- 
cretion of  Chalais — The  Commander  de  Valance — The  Interview — 
Rochefort — Remorse  of  Chalais — The  Cardinal  in  his  Closet — The 
King  and  his  Minister — Guard  at  Fleury — The  Plot  defeated — The 
Duke  and  the  Cardinal  —  Politic  Politeness — Previsions  of  Riche- 
lieu         34 

CHAPTER  III. 

1626. 
Question  of  the  Duke  d'Anjou's  Marriage — Foresight  of  Gaston — Marie 
de  Bourbon — Opposition — The  Vendome  Princes — The  Grand  Prior 
— Alarm  of  Louis  XIII. — The  Cardinal  and  the  Grand  Prior — Insid- 
ious Advice — Departure  of  the  Grand  Prior  for  Brittany — Dissimula- 
tion of  Louis  XIII.  —  Repentance  of  Chalais — Affected  Alarm  of 
Richelieu — The  forty  mounted  Guards — Triumph  of  the  Cardinal — 
Arrest  of  the  Vendome  Princes  at  Blois — The  Count  de  Rochefort — 
The  Capuchin  Monastery  at  Brussels — The  Plot  at  its  Climax — Ar- 
rest, Trial,  and  Confession  of  Chalais — Marriage  of  the  Duke  d'Anjou 
— Madame  de  Chalais — Condemnation  of  her  Son — Execution  of 
Chalais — The  Queen  before  the  Council 61 

CHAPTER  IV. 

1627-42. 
The  Cardinal's  Enemies — Projects  of  Buckingham — Death  of  the  Duch- 
ess d'Orleans — The  Count  de  Bouteville ;  his  Duels — The  Challenge 
— New  Executions — The  King  before  La  Rochelle — Court  Treachery 
— Arrest  of  Lord  Montagu — Famine  in  La  Rochelle — Tragical  Death 
of  Buckingham — Laporte  in  the  Bastille — Renewed  Banishment  of 
Marie  de  Medicis — Self-Expatriation  of  the  Duke  d'Orleans — Destitu- 
tion of  the  Duke  d'Epernon  and  the  Marquis  de  Vieuville — Execution 
of  the  Duke  de  Montmorency — Mazarin  in  France — The  Siege  of 
Landrecy — Birth  of  the  Count  de  Guiche — The  Duke  de  Grammont ; 
his  Father — The  Triple  Alliance — Private  Marriage  of  Gaston  d'Or- 
leans with  Marguerite  of  Lorraine — Estrangement  of  Louis  XIII.  and 
Anne  of  Austria — Mademoiselle  de  la  Fayette — Father  Joseph — The 
5th  of  December,  1637 — Morality  of  Louis  XIII. — Visit  to  the  Lou- 
vre— Pregnancy  of  Anne  of  Austria — The  Count  de  Chavigny — Gen- 
eral Rejoicing  —  Indisposition  of  the  Cardinal  —  The  royal  Hunts  — 
Declining  Health  of  Louis  XIII. — The  Cardinal  and  the  Astrologer 
— Birth  of  Louis  XIV.— -The  Swaddling-clothes — Poverty  of  Louis 


CONTENTS.  3 

XIII. — Social  Position  of  the  Kingdom — Partial  Reconciliation  of  the 
King  and  Queen— M.  de  Cinq-Mars— Birth  of  the  Duke  d'Anjou— 
Execution  of  Cinq-Mars  and  De  Thou— Death  of  Marie  de  Medicis 
at  Cologne — Fatal  Indisposition  of  Richelieu ;  his  Quarrel  with  Louis 
XIII. — The  State  Prisoners 80 

CHAPTER  V. 

1642-44. 
Marriage  of  Mademoiselle  de  Breze — Increased  Illness  of  the  Cardinal 
— Indifference  of  Louis  XIII. — Death  of  the  Cardinal — Ancient  and 
Modern  Biographers — Liberation  of  State  Prisoners — Reconciliation 
of  the  King  and  the  Duke  d'Orleans — Arrival  of  the  Remains  of  Marie 
de  Medicis — Illness  of  Louis  XIII. — Recognition  of  Madame — Chris- 
tening of  the  Dauphin — Death  of  Louis  XIII. — Anne  of  Austria  Re- 
gent— The  new  Ministry — The  Duke  d'Orleans  Lieutenant-General 
of  the  Kingdom— The  Duke  de  Beaufort— The  Three  Days—"  The 
Queen  is  so  good" — Louis  XIV.  and  the  State  Companies — Anne  of 
Austria  and  Voiture — The  Improvisation — The  Count  de  Guiche  and 
his  Governess — Piety  of  Anne  of  Austria — Return  of  Madame  de 
Chevreuse — Her  Intrigues — Coldness  of  the  Queen-Regent — Diplo- 
macy of  Mazarin — The  Duke  de  Beaufort  a  bad  Conspirator — Escape 
of  Mazarin — Arrest  of  the  Duke  de  Beaufort — Renewed  Exile  of 
Madame  de  Chevreuse — The  Duke  d'Enghien — The  Challenge — 
Death  of  Coligny — Mourning  Balls 107 

CHAPTER  VI. 

1645. 
The  Palais-Cardinal — "What's  in  a  Name?" — Establishment  of  Louis 
XIV. — Amusements  of  the  royal  Children — The  Children  of  Honor 
— Education  of  the  young  King — Historical  Readings  by  Laporte — 
Aversion  of  the  King  to  Mazarin — M.  de  Mancini  and  the  Bougeoir 
—The  Grand  Turk— The  Wardrobe  of  Louis  XIV.— A  royal  Fast- 
Campaign  of  Flanders — The  Rodogune  of  Corneille — Arrival  of  Queen 
Henrietta  in  France  —  Avarice  of  Mazarin — Battle  of  Nordlingen — 
Selfishness  of  Mazarin — Contract  of  Marie  de  Gonzague  and  the  King 
of  Naples — The  Cardinal  de  Retz — Madame  de  Sevigne — The  Polish 
Nobles — A  Contrast 135 

CHAPTER  VII. 

1646-48. 
Fontainebleau — The  Polish  Envoys — The  Forest — Darkness  in  a  Pal- 
ace— Anger  of  the  Regent — A  Quarrel  on  Etiquet — The  Coadjutor 


4  CONTENTS. 

of  Paris — A  mistaken  Word — Reconciliation  between  the  Cardinal 
and  the  Coadjutor— Threat  to  the  Queen  of  Poland — The  Marriage — 
Munificence  of  Anne  of  Austria — The  King  and  his  Brother — Pre- 
cocity of  Louis  XIV. — Effeminacy  of  Philip  d'Anjou — A  Court-Ball — 
The  first  Campaign  of  Louis  XIV. — Mademoiselle  and  the  Emperor 
oi  Germany — Death  of  the  Marshal  de  Bassompierre — Feud  between 
the  Regent  and  the  Parliament — Revolt  of  the  United  Provinces — 
The  Duke  de  Guise  at  Naples ;  his  Capture  at  Capua — Mademoiselle 
and  the  Prince  of  Wales — Illness  of  the  King — The  Family  of  Maza- 
rin — Revolt  of  the  Parisians — Richelieu  versus  Mazarin — M.  d'Emery 
— Paris  under  Arms — Arrogance  of  the  Queen-Regent — The  King  at 
Ndtre  Dame — Dissensions  in  the  Parliament — The  new  Edicts — Dec- 
laration of  the  Regent — Opposition  of  the  Corporate  Bodies — A  new 
Leader 156 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

1648 

The  Duke  de  Beaufort  at  Vincennes — The  Prediction — La  Ramee — 
Preparations  for  Flight — The  Pasty — The  Prince  and  the  Valet — The 
Evasion — Discontent  of  Mademoiselle — The  Archduke  Leopold  — 
Arrest  of  Saujon — The  Retort  courteous — Increase  of  Popular  Disaf- 
fection— Popularity  of  the  Coadjutor — Victory  of  Sens — Triumph  of 
the  Court — The  Te  Deum — Arrest  of  Broussel  and  Blancmesnil — 
Consternation  of  the  Capital — The  impromptu  Council — Advice  of 
the  Coadjutor — The  revolted  Citizens — The  Coadjutor  and  the  Mob 
— The  Coadjutor  and  the  Faction — The  Fronde — The  Liberation  of 
Broussel — Terror  of  Mazarin — Sudden  Calm 176 

CHAPTER  IX. 

1648. 

Removal  of  the  Court  to  Ruel — Recall  of  the  Prince  de  Conde — Arrest 
of  Chavigny — Rivalry  between  Gaston  d'Orleans  and  Conde — Dec- 
laration of  the  Parliament  against  Mazarin — Private  Marriage  of  the 
Queen  and  the  Cardinal — Madame  de  Beauvais — The  Cardinal's  Hat 
— Reply  of  the  Marshal  d'Estrees — Politeness  of  the  young  King — 
Mazarinades — Reconciliation  of  the  Duke  d'Orleans  with  the  Court 
—The  Abbe  de  la  Riviere — Favor  of  the  Prince  de  Conde;  his  ill- 
judged  Advice — The  Twelfth-Cake — Evasion  of  the  Court  from  Paris 
—Mademoiselle  in  the  Queen's  Coach — The  Court  at  St.  Germain — 
Effect  of  the  King's  Flight  upon  the  Populace  .  209 


CONTENTS.  5 

CHAPTER  X. 

1648,  49. 
Tranquillity  of  the  Coadjutor — Idle  Rumors — Mob-Enthusiasm — Decla- 
ration of  Louis  XIV.  to  the  Corporate  Bodies — Interdict  upon  the 
Parliament — Attempt  to  create  a  Famine  in  Paris — Parliamentary 
Decree  against  Mazarin — Contempt  of  the  Court — Madame  de  Longue- 
ville  at  the  Town-Hall — Disaffection  of  the  Princes — Intrigues  of 
Madame  de  Longueville — Perplexity  of  the  Coadjutor — Arrival  of 
the  Prince  de  Conti  and  the  Duke  de  Longueville  at  Paris — The 
Prince  de  Conti  and  the  Parliament — M.  d'Elbceuf  and  his  three  Sons 
— The  Princes  offer  their  Services  to  the  Parliament — Madame  de 
Longueville  and  the  Populace — Siege  of  the  Bastille — A  dangerous 
Witticism — The  Citizen-Court — Measures  of  the  Prince  de  Conde — 
Alarm  at  St.  Germain — Intended  Flight  of  Mazarin — Indignation  of 
Conde — The  Hunchback — Fronde-Pasquinades — Royal  Retorts — Po- 
litical Scandal — The  Duke  de  Beaufort  in  the  Capital — "  The  King  of 
the  Markets" — Leaders  of  the  Fronde — Tancred  de  Rohan    .     .  228 

CHAPTER  XL 

1650. 
Prudence  of  the  Parliament — Seizure  of  the  Cardinal's  Property — Mu- 
nificence of  the  City  to  the  Queen  of  England — An  exiled  Princess — 
The  condemned  Prisoner — Exchange  of  Prisoners — Check  of  the 
Royal  Forces  before  Rouen — The  first  Sortie — "  The  First  of  the 
Corinthians" — Death  of  Tancred  de  Rohan — Battle  of  Charenton — 
Death  of  Chanleu — The  Ball  and  the  Baton — Defeat  of  the  Frondeurs 
at  Charenton  and  Ville-Juif — The  Herald — Treaty  with  the  Princes 
— Turenne  declares  for  the  Parliament — Terms  of  the  Treaty — Venal- 
ity of  the  Princes — The  Citizen-Prince 254 

CHAPTER  XII. 

1650. 
Return  of  the  royal  Fugitives — Reluctance  of  the  Queen  and  her  Minis- 
ter— Mademoiselle  de  Chevreuse — Mademoiselle  and  Henrietta  of 
England — The  Duke  of  York — Return  of  Monsieur  to  Blois — The 
Duke  de  Beaufort  and  Madame  de  Montbazon — The  Court  at  Com- 
piegne — Mademoiselle  and  Charles  II. — Egotism  of  Mademoiselle — 
Character  of  the  Prince  de  Conde — Ambitious  Projects  of  Madame 
de  Longueville — Disaffection  of  Conde — Libelous  Publications — Res- 
cue of  the  Printers — Altercation  between  the  Duke  de  Beaufort  and 
the  Marquis  de  Jarze — Arrival  of  Charles  II. — Reconciliation  of  the 


6  CONTENTS. 

Queen-Regent  and  Conde — The  Coadjutor  at  Compiegne — Reception 
of  Madame  de  Chevreuse — Entry  of  the  King  and  Queen  in  Paris — 
Popularity  of  Mazarin — The  Duke  de  Beaufort  at  the  Palais-Royal — 
Death  of  the  Empress  of  Germany — Renewed  Hopes  of  Mademoiselle 
— The  Courtship  of  Charles  II. — Illness  of  Mademoiselle — Confirma- 
tion of  the  young  Princes 264 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

1650. 
Hollow  Reconciliations — Arrogance  of  the  Prince  de  Conde — Defiance 
of  Mazarin — "  Adieu,  Mars !" — The  Tabouret — A  new  Affront — Mar- 
riage of  the  Duke  de  Richelieu  and  Mademoiselle  de  Pons — The 
Cardinal  and  Madame  de  Chevreuse — A  War  of  Wits — Meditated 
Arrest  of  the  Princes  of  Lorraine — Autograph  Letter  to  the  Coadjutor 
— His  Distrust  of  the  Regent — Sincerity  of  Mademoiselle  de  Chev- 
reuse— Stipulations  of  the  Coadjutor — Treachery  of  the  Abbe  de  la 
Riviere — the  Duke  d'Orleans  and  Madame  de  Soyon — Adhesion  of 
Monsieur  to  the  Conspiracy — The  Cardinal's  Secretary — Apprehen- 
sions of  the  Dowager-Princess  de  Conde — Arrest  of  the  Princes — The 
Journey  to  Vincennes — Public  Excitement — Flight  of  the  Duchess  de 
Longueville — Separation  of  the  Duchess  and  her  Daughter — The  Prin- 
cesses de  Conde  banished  from  the  Court — The  Queen-Regent  at 
Rouen — Disgust  of  Madame  de  Longueville — Her  Escape — Her  Arri- 
val in  Holland — Evasion  of  the  Duke  de  Bouillon  and  Marshal  Tu- 
renne — Return  of  the  Court  to  Paris        286 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

1650. 
Arrest  of  the  Duchess  de  Bouillon ;  her  Escape  with  her  Daughter ; 
their  Seizure;  they  are  conveyed  to  the  Bastille — Evasion  of  the 
Princess  de  Conde  and  the  Duke  d'Enghien — Appeal  of  the  Princess- 
Dowager  to  the  Parliament ;  her  Banishment  to  Valery — Madame 
de  Longueville  and  Turenne  make  a  Treaty  with  Spain — Turenne 
at  the  Head  of  his  Troops — The  Court  at  Compiegne — Madame  de 
Conde  at  Bordeaux — Danger  of  the  royal  Envoy — Mademoiselle  and 
the  Emperor  of  Germany — Court  of  Madame  de  Conde — The  King's 
Troops  march  against  the  Princes — Journey  of  the  Court  to  Bordeaux 
— Capture  of  Vayres — Execution  of  the  Governor — Reprisals — Exe- 
cution of  the  Baron  de  Canolles — Siege  of  Bordeaux — Submission  of 
the  City — Interview  of  the  Queen-Regent  and  Madame  de  Conde — 
Levity  of  Mademoiselle — Coldness  of  the  Bordeaulese  toward  the  Re- 
gent— March  of  Turenne  and  the  Archduke  on  Paris — Preparations 
for  a  Renewal  of  the  Fronde — The  Regent  sick  at  Poitiers — Exasper- 


CONTENTS.  7 

arion  of  the  Coadjutor — Madame  de  Rhodes,  the  Princess-Palatine, 
and  Mademoiselle  de  Chevreuse — Henry,  Duke  de  Guise;  his  ro- 
mantic Career — The  double  Divorce — Procrastination  of  the  Duke 
d'Orleans;  his  Indignation  at  the  proposed  Removal  of  the  Princes 
to  Havre  ;  his  narrow  Policy — The  extorted  Signature — Arrival  of 
Charles  II. — Coldness  of  the  French  Court — Retirement  of  the  En- 
glish King  to  Jersey 313 

CHAPTER  XV. 

1650,  51. 
The  Battle  of  Rethel — Death  of  the  Dowager-Princess  de  Conde — Re- 
monstrance of  the  Parliament  on  the  Imprisonment  of  the  Princes — 
Quarrel  of  the  Duke  d'Orleans  and  the  Cardinal — Misgivings  of  Made- 
moiselle— Reconciliation  between  Mademoiselle  and  Conde — Maza- 
rin  offers  the  Hand  of  Louis  XIV.  to  Mademoiselle — The  Cardinal 
foiled — The  interpolated  Factum — Energy  of  Gaston  d'Orleans — 
Alarm  of  the  Court — Evasion  of  the  Cardinal — Riot  in  the  Capital — 
Mademoiselle  de  Chevreuse  and  the  Duchesse  d'Orleans — Pusilla- 
nimity of  Monsieur — Seizure  of  the  City  Gates  by  the  Frondeurs — 
The  Populace  in  the  Palais-Royal — M.  Desbuches  in  the  Royal  Cham- 
ber— Mazarin  at  Havre — Emancipation  of  the  Princes ;  their  Arrival 
in  Paris 336 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

1650,  51. 
Reception  of  the  Princes  by  the  Court — Intrigue  against  the  Coadjutor 
— Vanity  of  Mademoiselle — Projected  Marriage  of  the  Prince  de 
Conti  and  Mademoiselle  de  Chevreuse — Proposition  of  Conde — Ill- 
ness of  Madame  de  Conde — Mademoiselle  indulges  in  a  new  matri- 
monial Speculation — Retirement  of  the  Coadjutor — An  armed  Neu- 
trality— Pretensions  of  the  Prince  de  Conde — The  Queen  makes 
Overtures  to  the  Coadjutor — Fresh  Intrigues — The  Projected  Assas- 
sination— Noble  Resistance  ofihe  Coadjutor — Sentence  against  Maza- 
rin— Private  Meetings  of  the  Queen  and  the  Coadjutor — Retreat  of 
the  Princes  to  St.  Maur — The  royal  Envoy — Rage  of  the  Duke  d'Or- 
leans — Return  of  Conde  to  the  Capital  —  Close  of  the  Regency — 


Maiori 


ty    of   Louis    XIV.  —  The    Bed   of   Justice — Renunciation  of 


the  Regency  by  Anne  of  Austria — The  King  and  Madame  de  Fron- 
tenac 355 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

1651,  52. 

Youth  of  Louis  XIV.  and   Philip  d'Anjou — Early  Associations — Igno- 
rance of  the  young  King — Armaiid  de  Guiche — Subjection  of  the  King 


8  CONTENTS. 

to  the  Cardinal — State  of  the  Kingdom — Discontent  of  Monsieur — 
Courage  of  Mademoiselle — Revolt  of  Cootie — March  of  the  Court 
against  Bordeaux — Return  of  Mazarin — Paris  in  Arms — Submission 
of  Turenne — Declaration  against  the  Princes — Sale  of  the  Cardinal's 
Library — Charles  II.  after  the  battle  of  Worcester — The  Duke  de 
Nemours — Madame  de  Chatillon — Diplomacy  of  Mademoiselle — The 
City  of  Orleans  declares  for  the  Fronde — Cowardice  of  Monsieur — 
The  Countess  de  Fiesque — Mademoiselle  declares  herself,  and  takes 
Orleans 379 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

1652. 
Koyal  Progress  through  Orleans — Harangue  at  the  Town-Hall — Defeat 
of  the  Duke  de  Beaufort — Ludicrous  Struggle  between  the  Duke  de 
Nemours  and  the  Duke  de  Beaufort — Arrival  of  M.  de  Conde  at  the 
rebel  Army ;  his  Letter  to  Mademoiselle — State  of  the  royal  Army 
— Singular  Quarrel  between  the  King  and  his  Brother— ^Anecdotes 
of  the  young  King — The  female  Generals — Return  of  Mademoiselle 
to  Paris ;  she  heads  the  Faction — Defeat  of  the  Fronde  at  Etampes — 
Courage  of  Louis  XIV. — Sufferings  of  the  royal  Troops — Monsieur 
refuses  to  act — Accredits  Mademoiselle — Mademoiselle  at  the  Town- 
Hall      412 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

1652. 

_Ra,tt1g._nf  the  Porte  St.  Antoine — Mademoiselle  turns  the  Cannon  of  the 
Bastille  against  the  Royal  Forces — Retreat  of  the  King's  Army — Ac- 
knowledgments of  Conde  to  Mademoiselle  ;  her  Suspicions  of  Conde 
— Flight  of  the  Court  to  St.  Denis — Meeting  at  the  Town-Hall — Ex- 
traordinary Party  Badge — New  Dilemma  of  Monsieur — Project  of  a 
Union — Attack  on  the  Town-Hall — The  Provost  of  the  Merchants — 
Removal  of  the  Court  to  Pontoise — Monsieur  declared  Lieutenant- 
general  of  the  Kingdom  by  the  Parliament ;  his  Want  of  Authority 
in  the  Capital 438 

CHAPTER  XX. 

1652. 
Divisions  among  the  Princes — Quarrel  of  the  Dukes  de  Nemours  and 
Beaufort — Fatal  Duel — Death  of  M.  de  Nemours — Forbearance  of 
M.  de  Beaufort — The  Prince  de  Cond£  receives  a  Blow — Answer 
of  the  President  Bellievre — Death  of  the  young  Duke  de  Valois — 
Severe  Indisposition  of  the  Princess  de  Conde — Renewed  Hopes 


CONTENTS.  9 

of  Mademoiselle — Reconciliation  of  Mademoiselle  and  the  Duke  de 
Lorraine — New  Opposition  of  the  Parliament — Resignation  and  Re- 
tirement of  Mazarin — Resignation  "of  the  Duke  de  Beaufort  and  M. 
Broussel — Return_of  the  King  to  Paris;  ho  Dislodges  Mademoiselle 
from  the  Tuileries — Alarm  of  Monsieur :  refuses  to  Lodge  Mademoi- 
selle in  the  Luxembourg — Monsieur  leaves  Paris — Mademoiselle 
retires  to  Pons — Position  of  the  Kingdom  —  Declaration  of  Lese- 
Majeste  against  the  Princes — The  Prince  de  Conde  and  the  Duke  do 
Lorraine  continue  their  Military  Operations  in  the  Provinces.    .  461 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

1652. 
Imprudence  of  the  Coadjutor — The  Court  are  anxious  for  its  Over- 
throw—Louis XIV.  asserts  himself — Resolves  on  his  Arrest — Auto- 
graph Order  to  that  Effect — Arrest  of  the  Coadjutor — The  Opiate-Paste 
— Termination  of  the  Second  Fronde — Return  of  Mazarin — Deaths 
of  the  Duke  de  Bouillon,  the  Marshal  Caumont  de  la  Force,  and 
Mademoiselle  de  Chevreuse — Marriage  of  the  Poet  Scarron  and 
Frances  D'Aubigny — Early  History  of  Frances  D'Aubigny     .     .  482 

CHAPTER  XXII.  "^ 

1652-54. 
Proceedings  of  the  Prince  de  Conde — Position  of  Mazarin ;  his  first 
Measures — Marriage  of  the  Prince  de  Conti  and  Mademoiselle  Mar- 
tinozzi — Condemnation  of  the  Prince  de  Conde;  his  Retort — Marriage 
of  the  Duke  de  Richelieu  and  Mademoiselle  de  Beauvais — First  At- 
tachments of  Louis  XIV. — Madame  de  Frontenac  and  Madame  de 
Chatilion — Caution  of  the  Cardinal — Mademoiselle  d'Heudecourt — 
The  Nieces  of  the  Cardinal — Madame  de  Beauvais — Court  Festivi- 
ties— The  Etourdi  j?f  Mili.  n  —  Louis  XIV.  an  Actor  and  a  Dancer— 
The  Superintendent  Fouquet — The  Coronation  of  Louis  XIV. — The 
Marquis  de  Fabert — The  Coadjutor  becomes  Archbishop  of  Paris — 
M.  de  Bellievre  as  an  Ambassador — Transfer  of  the  Archbishop  to 
Nantes ;  his  Evasion ;  Order  for  his  Arrest 500 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

1654-57 
Court  of  Louis  XIV.— Olympia  de  Mancini ;  her  Favor  with  the  King- 
Henrietta  of  England  and  her  Daughter — Rudeness  of  Louis  XIV.  to 
the  English  Princess — Misunderstanding  between  Louis  XIV.  and 


10  CONTENTS. 

Anne  of  Austria — Attempted  Opposition  of  the  Parliament — Extraor- 
dinary Proceeding  of  the  King — the  Cardinal  de  Retz  in  Rome — 
Marriage  of  Laura  de  Martinozzi  with  the  Duke  of  Modena — Capit- 
ulation of  Landrecies — More  Victories  obtained  by  the  Royal  Forces 
— The  Count  de  Soissons — Arrival  of  Christina  of  Sweden ;  her  Por- 
trait by  the  Duke  de  Guise — Jealousy  of  Olympia  de  Mancini — The 
Reception  of  Christina;  her  Destitution;  her  Portrait  by  Mademoi- 
selle; her  Visit  to  Ninon  de  l'Enclos;  her  Departure — NewCampaipi 
of  Louis  XIV. — Death  of  Madame  de  Mancini  and  the  Duchess  de 
Mercoeur — Compliments  of  Condolence — Mortification  of  Olympia  de 
Mancini ;  her  Resentment ;  her  Marriage — Coldness  of  the  King — 
Courtly  Conjectures — the  Italian  Opera — The  young  Stranger     .  529 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

1654-57. 

Mary  de  Mancini — The  Prophecy — The  Portrait — Hortensia  de  Mancini 
— Presentation  of  the  Sisters  to  the  King — Secret  Passion  of  Mary 
for  Louis  XIV. — Mademoiselle  de  la  Motte  d'Argencourt — Flight  of 
the  King — Return  of  Louis  to  Court — Insolence  of  Mademoiselle  d'Ar- 
gencourt— Remonstrances  of  the  Queen — Growing  Attachment  to 
Mary  de  Mancini ;  her  conversational  Talents — Negotiations  for  the 
Marriage  of  Louis  XIV. — Partial  Reconciliation  of  Monsieur  with  the 
Court — Rival  Princesses — Alliance  with  Cromwell — Arrival  of  the 
Princess  of  Orange — Departure  of  the  Princess-Royal  and  the  Duke 
of  York — The  Hand  of  Maiy  de  Mancini  demanded  by  Charles  II. — 
Refusal  of  the  Cardinal — Return  of  Christina ;  her  Residence  at  Fon- 
tainebleau — The  Murder  of  Monaldeschi 553 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

1657,  58. 

Reconciliation  of  Monsieur  and  Mademoiselle ;  her  return  to  Court — 
Interview  with  Anne  of  Austria — Presentation  to  the  King — Project 
of  Marriage  between  Mademoiselle  and  the  Duke  d'Anjou — Christina 
at  Court — Increasing  Passion  of  Louis  XIV.  for  Mary  de  Mancini — 
Uneasiness  of  the  Queen — Overtures  of  the  Duchess  of  Savoy — M.  de 
Verue — The  Lottery  of  the  Cardinal — Insolence  of  Mazarin  toward 
Anne  of  Austria — Influence  of  Mary  de  Mancini  over  the  Mind  of 
the  King — Their  literary  Studies — Historical  Misstatements  relative 
to  Louis  XIV. — Mary  de  Mancini  and  Moliere — Opposition  of  the 
Qneen — Moliere  at  Paris  .  569 

hmmhh 


CONTENTS.  11 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

1658. 

'Slip fiS?£jrfi«M°l! ^P~^DX^etv  °^  tne  Queen  f°r  ^le  King's  Marriage — 
Hopes  of  Mazarin — Firm  Opposition  of  Anne  of  Austria — Treason 
of  Marshal  d'Hocquincourt — Submission  of  the  Duke  de  Beaufort — 
The  King  before  Hesdin — Precautions  of  Mazarin — Serious  Illness 
of  the  King — Mazarin  conceals  his  Wealth — A  Cabal — Madame  de 
Fienne  in  the  King's  Antechamber — Recovery  of  the  King — Mary 
de  Mancini  in  the  Sick-Room — Exile  of  the  Conspirators — Journey 
of  the  Court  to  Lyons — Meeting  of  the  Courts  of  France  and  Savoy 
— The  Princess  Marguerite — Coldness  of  the  Royal  Suitor — The 
Duke  of  Savoy — Determination  of  the  King  of  Spain — The  Hand 
of  the  Infanta  offered  to  Louis  XIV. — Departure  of  the  Duke  of 
Savoy — Rejection  of  the  Princess  Marguerite — Departure  of  Madame 
Royale  and  her  Daughter 588 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


THE     FIRST    VOLUME. 


PAQE 

Portrait  of  Louis  XIV.  (full  length)  .     .     .       Frontispiece.  ^3 « 

The  Castle  of  Blois 13 

Perspective  of  the  Louvre 34 

The  old  Chateau  of  Versailles 61 

Palace  of  the  Popes  at  Avignon 80 

Notre-Dame  and  the    Hotel-Dieu 107 

The  Palais-Cardinal 135 

Grand  Avenue  of  the  Tuileries 176 

The  Palace  of  Chantillt 209 

Castle  of  Vincennes 228 

Palace  of  the  Luxembourg 254 

Inner  Court  of  the  Louvre 264 

Palace  of  St.  Germain-en-Late 286 

Palace  of  the  Tuileries 313 

Porte  St.  Denis 412 

Porte  St.  Antoine 438 

Hotel  de  Ville 461 

Pont  Neuf 482 

Louis  XIV.  Hunting 500 

Portrait  of  Moliere 528 

Cour  du  Cheval  Blanc,  Fontainebleau 529 

Portrait  of  Lulli 552 

Convent  de  l'Oratoire 553 

Palace  of  St.  Cloud 569 

Portrait  of  Boileau 587 

Val  de  Grace 588 


LOUIS   XIV. 


AND    THE 


COURT  OF  FRANCE  IN  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Reign  of  Louis  XIV. — Retrospective  Glance — Children  of  Louis  XIII. 
— Policy  of  Marie  de  Medicis — The  Royal  Favorite — His  Pedigree — 
Matrimonial  Exchange — Anne  of  Austria;  her  Portrait — Royal  Mar- 
riage —  The  Cardinal  de  Richelieu  —  Assassination  of  the  Marshal 
d'Ancre — Ingratitude  of  Richelieu — Richelieu  and  the  Queen-Mother 
— Anecdote  related  by  Bassompierre — Escape  of  Marie  de  Medicis 
from  Blois — Abortive  Rebellion — Submission  of  the  Queen-Mother — 
Subtilty  of  Richelieu — Madame  de  Chevreuse — Levity  of  Anne  of 
Austria — Gaston,  Duke  d'Anjou — Jealousy  of  Louis  XIII. ;  his  fail- 
ing Health — Richelieu  in  Masquerade — The  Discovery — Feud  be- 
tween the  Queen  and  the  Cardinal— Disgraceful  Rumors. 

The  reign  of  Louis  XIV.  may  be  divided  into  three 
separate  sections.  From  his  succession,  in  1643,  at  the 
early  age  of  five  years,  to  his  majority,  in  1651,  the  history 


H  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

of  the  country  is  that  of  the  regency  of  Anne  of  Austria 
and  the  Fronde,  when  he  was  merely  the  puppet  of  the 
Queen-Mother  and  her  minister:  from  his  majority  until 
the  death  of  Mazarin,  in  1661,  it  is  that  of  the  cardinal 
himself,  who  was  the  one  prominent  figure  upon  the  na- 
tional canvas,  absorbing  in  his  own  person  all  the  authority 
of  sovereign  power ;  and  it  is,  consequently,  only  after  the 
decease  of  that  subtile  and  intriguing  churchman  that  Louis 
XIV.  can  be  considered  as  the  real  sovereign  of  France, 
wielding  as  well  as  grasping  the  scepter  which  had  been 
bequeathed  to  him  by  his  ancestors. 

It  is,  however,  expedient,  in  order  thoroughly  to  under- 
stand the  position  of  the  French  nation  at  the  period  when 
this  monarch  was  called  to  the  throne,  that  we  should  turn 
a  retrospective  glance  upon  the  reign  of  his  predecessor, 
and  give  a  hasty  sketch  of  the  prominent  events  by  which 
it  was  distinguished.  Moreover,  throughout  the  two  epochs 
which  we  have  designated,  circumstances  bearing  upon  the 
future  fortunes  of  the  young  sovereign,  and  shades  of  indi- 
vidual character,  are  to  be  detected,  which,  although  oc- 
casionally trifling  in  themselves,  still  serve,  like  the  first 
touches  of  a  skillful  artist,  to  indicate  the  physiognomy  of 
the  coming  portrait ;  while,  blended  with  these,  are,  neces- 
sarily, facts  and  occurrences  which  tend  to  explain  the  pe- 
culiar nature  and  intricacies  of  the  Franco-Italian-Spanish 
court,  which,  at  the  commencement  of  the  "  great  century," 
offered  all  the  romance  and  all  the  incongruity  of  an  earlier 
age. 

The  childhood  of  Louis  XIII.  had  been  one  of  constraint 
and  disgust.  The  inherent  cruelty  of  his  nature  was  so 
great  that  his  father,  Henry  IV.,  is  stated  to  have  twice 
inflicted  upon  him  corporal  punishment  with  his  own  royal 
hands,  in  order  to  correct  him  of  this  revolting  and  unman- 
ly vice ;  and  to  have  replied  to  the  expostulations  of  his 
mother,  Marie  de  Medicis,  that  she  had  need  pray  to  God 
for  her  husband's  life,  seeing  that  her  son  would  ill-treat  her 


THE     COURT     OF      FRANCE.  15 

when  she  was  no  longer  protected  from  his  violence.  The 
words  were  prophetic. 

On  her  side,  Marie  de  Medicis,  anxious  to  maintain  the 
royal  authority,  instead  of  directing  the  studies  of  the  young 
king,  called  prematurely  to  the  throne  by  the  crime  of  an 
assassin,  suffered  him  to  remain  in  complete  ignorance  of 
all  with  which  it  behooved  him  to  become  familiar,  in  order 
to  reign  worthily  over  a  great  people.  Occupied  by  her 
own  political  aggrandizement,  and  devoted  to  the  indul- 
gence of  her  own  vices,  she  condemned  the  unformed  and 
moody  mind  of  Louis  to  the  constant  and  familiar  associa- 
tion of  her  two  favorites,  Concini  and  Galiga'i,  both  of  whom 
were  peculiarly  obnoxious  to  him.  She  never  saw  him 
save  when  necessity  compelled  her  to  do  so ;  and  his  re- 
ception was  generally  cold  and  repelling.  Thus  he  grew 
to  manhood,  a  combination  of  opposing  qualities.  The 
royal  blood  which  flowed  in  his  veins  endowed  him  with  a 
pride,  which  the  consciousness  of  his  mental  deficiencies 
obscured  by  a  timidity  almost  painful;  the  ready  and  reck- 
less courage  which  he  inherited  from  his  father,  was  mar- 
red by  an  indecision  readily  traced  to  a  coerced  boyhood, 
and  the  non-inculcation  of  moral  dignity ;  a  vindictiveness 
at  once  violent  and  lasting,  which  was  compensated  by  no 
answering  faculty  of  affection;  and  a  dissimulation  induced 
from  constant  companionship  with  persons  displeasing  to 
him ;  patient  and  weak  in  the  common  commerce  of  life, 
but  suspicious  and  even  violent  by  fits ;  such  were  the  qual- 
ities of  Louis  XIII.,  of  the  son  of  the  frankest,  the  bravest, 
and  the  most  joyous  monarch  who  ever  swayed  the  scepter 
of  France ;  and  of  the  boldest,  the  haughtiest,  the  most  re- 
vengeful, and  the  firmest  princess  who  ever  bore  the  name 
of  Medicis. 

To  one  favorite,  and  to  one  alone,  Louis  XIII.  was  faith- 
ful unto  death,  and  that  one  was  Charles-Albert  de  Luynes; 
the  only  companion  of  his  own  age  who  was  permitted  to 
associate  with  the  young  king,  and  who  was  considered  by 


10  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

the  Queen-Mother  as  a  harmless  and  safe  companion  for 
the  monarch,  from  his  frivolity  and  insignificance.  De 
Luynes  accepted  the  privilege  upon  the  proffered  terms, 
and  excited  neither  envy  nor  suspicion  when  he  established 
himself  and  his  two  brothers  at  court,  their  birth  being  too 
humble  to  authorize  any  competition  on  their  part  with  the 
haughty  young  nobles  by  whom  they  were  surrounded. 

One  word  on  their  origin. 

Among  the  private  musicians  of  Francis  I.  figured  a  cer- 
tain lute-player,  a  German  by  birth,  named  Albert,  to  whom 
the  king  was  much  attached,  not  only  on  account  of  his  tal- 
ent, which  was  extraordinary,  but  because  his  intellect  was 
no  less  remarkable.  So  greatly,  indeed,  was  he  in  favor, 
that  when  the  monarch  made  his  entrance  into  Marseilles, 
where  the  brother  of  the  musician  was  a  priest,  he  present- 
ed to  him  a  rich  canonry  which  chanced  then  to  be  vacant. 
The  said  canon  had  two  sons,  one  of  whom  he  brought  up 
to  a  learned  profession,  and  the  other  to  that  of  arms.  The 
elder,  who  was  a  physician,  took  the  name  of  Luynes,  from 
a  small  estate  of  which  he  became  possessed,  and,  having 
acquired  considerable  riches,  attached  himself  to  the  for- 
tunes of  the  Queen  of  Navarre  ;  with  whom  he  continued 
till  her  death,  and  to  whom,  in  her  season  of  necessity,  he  is 
stated  to  have  lent  the  sum  of  twelve  thousand  crowns. 

The  younger  was  one  of  the  bowmen  of  King  Charles, 
and  by  his  extreme  bravery  attracted  the  attention  of  M. 
Danville,  the  Governor  of  Languedoc,  who  pushed  his  for- 
tune, and  ultimately  intrusted  to  him  the  government  of 
Beaucaire,  where  he  died,  leaving  behind  him  three  sons 
and  four  daughters. 

The  three  sons,  Albert,  Cadenet,  and  Brantes,  were  in- 
troduced to  the  Duke  de  Bassompierre  by  La  Varenne, 
who  had  been  to  Henry  IV.  what  Lebel  afterward  became 
to  Louis  XV. ;  and  Bassompierre,  who  had  incurred  obli- 
gations to  La  Varenne  during  the  reign  of  the  deceased 
king,  did  not  cease  to  acknowledge  them  after  his  court 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  17 

favor  was  at  an  end.  He  therefore  placed  Albert  near  the 
person  of  Louis  XIII.,  and  provided  for  his  brothers  about 
the  Marshal  de  Souvre,  who  added  them  to  the  household 
of  his  son. 

The  young  king,  who  was  at  that  period  without  a  sin- 
gle friend,  and  reduced  to  the  companionship  of  a  hunts- 
man and  a  falconer,  welcomed  this  new  associate  with  de- 
light ;  and  hastened  to  claim  his  cooperation  in  his  favorite 
pursuits.  He  could  not  have  chanced  upon  a  more  able 
ally,  for  Albert  was  expert  in  all  bodily  exercises,  and  pos- 
sessed an  indomitable  energy,  which  proved  a  great  and 
lasting  relief  to  the  dull  and  monotonous  existence  of  his 
royal  master.  The  amusements  of  Louis  were  few  and 
simple ;  his  only  luxury  consisted  of  an  aviary,  which  he 
had  caused  to  be  built  in  his  garden ;  while,  to  the  care  of 
his  birds,  he  superadded  the  pleasure  of  driving,  whip  in 
hand,  the  loads  of  sand  with  which  he  constructed  minia- 
ture fortresses.  His  home  occupations  were  music,  of 
which  he  was  passionately  fond ;  and  the  study  of  some  of 
the  mechanical  arts,  which  he  pursued  without  any  assist- 
ance. But  that  which  tended  the  most  strongly  to  attach 
Louis  to  his  first  favorite,  was  his  skill  in  training  jackdaws 
for  the  pursuit  of  small  birds  in  the  gardens  of  the  Louvre 
and  the  Tuilleries  ;  a  sport  in  which  the  young  monarch 
took  such  delight,  and  to  which  he  devoted  so  much  time, 
that  the  Queen-Mother  congratulated  herself  upon  having 
procured  for  him,  in  Luynes,  a  companion  who  would  occu- 
py his  mind  and  divert  his  thoughts  from  his  obligations  to 
the  state. 

It  was  at  the  commencement  of  1615,  just  as  he  was 
about  to  attain  his  fourteenth  year,  that  it  was  announced 
to  the  young  king  that  his  marriage  was  shortly  to  take 
place  with  the  Infanta  Anne  of  Austria,  daughter  of  Philip 
III.  He  received  the  intelligence  coldly  ;  and  far  from 
congratulating  himself  upon  an  event  which  must  necessa- 
rily change  the  whole  current  of  his  existence,  and  diver- 


18  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

sify  alike  his  pleasures  and  his  duties,  he  contemplated  it 
with  the  distrust  and  self-love  of  one  who  resolves  not  to  be 
duped. 

A  species  of  royal  barter  was  to  take  place  between  the 
two  courts  of  France  and  Spain ;  for,  at  the  same  time  that 
Louis  XIII.  became  the  husband  of  Anne  of  Austria,  the 
Infant  Philip  was  to  receive  the  hand  of  Henrietta  of 
France,  commonly  called  Madame  ;  and  the  young  king  no 
sooner  ascertained  that  his  affianced  bride  was  on  her  way 
to  Bidassoa,  where  the  exchange  of  the  princesses  was  to 
be  made,  than  he  dispatches  Luynes  to  meet  her ;  ostensi- 
bly to  convey  a  letter,  but  in  reality  in  order  to  hear,  from 
the  lips  of  a  man  in  whom  he  had  firm  faith,  whether  the 
beauty  of  the  infanta  were  equal  to  the  representations 
which  had  been  made  to  him. 

The  report  of  the  favorite  exceeded  the  hopes  of  the 
king ;  but,  still  unable  to  overcome  his  natural  distrust, 
he  left  Bourdeaux,  whither  he  had  been  accompanied  by 
the  court,  and  mounting  his  horse,  he  galloped,  accom- 
panied only  by  two  or  three  persons,  to  a  house  which 
she  must  pass  on  her  way,  and  entering  by  a  back  door, 
seated  himself  at  a  window  on  the  ground-floor,  where  he 
awaited  the  coming  of  the  cavalcade.  A  nobleman  of  the 
court,  who  had  been  previously  instructed,  stopped  the 
Infanta,  for  the  purpose  of  pronouncing  a  congratula- 
tory harangue,  during  which  time  Louis  was  enabled  to 
convince  himself  of  the  extreme  loveliness  of  his  young 
bride ;  a  loveliness  which,  according  to  all  the  historians 
of  the  times,  was  of  the  highest  order.  They  represent 
Anne  of  Austria,  says  Dumas,  "  as  combining  in  her 
person  sufficient  to  satisfy  even  the  exactions  of  royalty. 
Beautiful  with  a  majestic  beauty,  which  subsequently 
tended  admirably  to  assist  her  projects,  and  a  thousand 
times  compelled  the  respect  and  love  of  the  turbulent 
nobility  by  whom  she  was  surrounded ;  as  a  woman, 
captivating  to  the  eye  of  a  lover;  as  a  queen,  perfect  to 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  19 

the  eye  of  a  subject ;  tall  and  well  shaped ;  possessing 
the  whitest  and  most  delicate  hand  that  ever  made  an 
imperious  gesture ;  eyes  of  exquisite  beauty,  easily  dila- 
ted, and  to  which  their  greenish  tinge  gave  extraordinary 
transparency;  a  small  and  ruddy  mouth,  that  looked  like 
an  opening  rose-bud ;  long  and  silky  hair,  of  that  lovely 
pale  shade  of  auburn,  which  gives  to  the  faces  that  it  sur- 
rounds, at  once  the  sparkling  complexion  of  a  fair  beauty, 
and  the  animation  of  a  dark  one — such  was  the  wife  whom 
Louis  XIII.  received  as  his  companion."* 

The  royal  marriage  took  place  on  the  25th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1615,  in  the  cathedral  at  Bourdeaux  ;  and  imme- 
diately on  his  return  to  Paris,  the  young  king  was  fully 
occupied  in  terminating  the  quarrels  of  the  princes  of  the 
blood,  which  had  originated  in  the  unprovided  regency  of 
Marie  de  Medicis,  who,  upon  one  pretext  or  another,  was 
continually  creating  discontent  in  every  part  of  the  country, 
which,  still  writhing  beneath  the  effects  of  the  (miscalled) 
religious  wars,  could  ill  support  these  senseless  and  cease- 
less troubles. 

We  must  now  turn  aside  for  a  while  from  our  direct 
narrative,  to  introduce  a  personage  who,  at  this  period, 
made  his  first  appearance  at  the  court  of  France. 

Armand-Jean  Duplessis  was  the  son  of  Francis  Duples- 
sis,  lord  of  Richelieu,  a  man  of  high  birth,  notwithstanding 
all  the  doubts  which  may  have  been  put  forth  upon  that 
point ;  for  we  have,  in  support  of  the  fact,  the  testimony 
of  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier,  than  whom  no  better 
authority  on  questions  of  nobility  and  precedence  ever  ex- 
isted in  any  age.t     He  lost  his  father  when  he  was  five 

*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 

t  "  All  that  can  tend  to  ornament  a  house,"  says  Mademoiselle  de 
Montpensier,  on  the  occasion  of  a  visit  which  she  made  to  the  estate 
of  the  cardinal,  near  Champigni,  "  is  to  be  seen  at  Richelieu ;  which 
will  not  be  difficult  to  believe,  when  it  is  remembered  that  it  is  the 
work  of  the  vainest  and  most  ambitious  man  in  the  world ;  and, 
moreover,  of  one  who  was  first  minister  of  state,  and  long  possessed  of 


20  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

years  old,  who  died  leaving  three  sons  and  two  daughters ; 
Armand-Jean  being  the  youngest  of  the  former.  The 
first  entered  the  army,  where  he  lost  his  life ;  and  the 
second,  who  was  Bishop  of  Lucon,  resigned  his  See,  in 
order  to  enter  a  Carthusian  community  ;  when  the  subject 
of  our  sketch,  who  had  also  been  bred  to  the  church,  suc- 
ceeded to  the  bishopric. 

In  1607  he  departed  for  Rome,  in  order  to  receive  the 
consecration  of  his  new  dignity  at  the  hands  of  Paul  V., 
who  inquired  of  him  whether  he  had  attained  the  age 
required  by  the  canonical  law,  which  is  twenty-five  years. 
The  embryo  prelate  replied  at  once  in  the  affirmative  ; 
but,  immediately  after  the  ceremony,  he  requested  the 
holy  father  to  receive  his  confession  ;  in  which,  with  the 
same  composure,  he  admitted  the  falsehood  of  which  he 
had  just  been  guilty.  The  Pontiff  absolved  him  of  the 
sin ;  but,  in  the  course  of  the  same  evening,  he  pointed 
out  the  new  bishop  to  the  French  ambassador,  remarking 
that  he  would  one  day  become  a  great  impostor. 

On  his  return  to  France,  the  Bishop  of  Lucon  formed  a 
friendship  with  the  advocate  Boutheiller,*  who  was  in  con- 
stant communication  with  Barbin,  the  confidential  agent 
of  the  Queen-Mother  ;  and  it  was  under  his  roof  that  the 
Controller-General  made  his  acquaintance.  Struck  by  the 
great  and  varied  talents  of  the  young  prelate,  he  instantly 

absolute  authority.  The  furniture  is  handsome  and  costly  beyond  all 
description.  Nothing  can  equal  the  immense  profusion  of  beautiful 
things  which  are  contained  in  this  house.  Among  all  that  modern  in- 
vention has  employed  in  its  embellishment,  he  has  caused  to  be  pre- 
served, in  the  chimney-piece  of  a  saloon,  the  arms  of  the  house  of 
Kichelieu,  as  they  were  emblazoned  there  during  the  lifetime  of  his 
father,  because  they  contain  the  collar  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  in  order  to 
prove  to  those  who  are  accustomed  to  sneer  at  the  birth  of  favorites, 
that  he  was  born  of  a  good  race.  Upon  this  point  he  deceived  no  one." 
— Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 

*  Claude  Boutheiller  was  of  an  ancient  family  of  Angoul6me,  and 
subsequently  at  the  head  of  the  Finance  department. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  21 

foretold  his  future  greatness  ;  of  which  he  was  so  thorough- 
ly convinced,  that,  in  order  to  hasten  its  advent,  he  pre- 
sented him  to  Leonora  Galiga'i,  who  employed  him  for  a 
time  in  certain  unimportant  negotiations,  which  he  con- 
ducted with  such  ability,  that  she  finally  brought  him 
under  the  notice  of  Marie  de  Medicis,  who,  judging  of 
her  young  protege  as  favorably  as  herself,  after  sundry 
trials  of  his  zeal  and  capability,  appointed  him  to  the 
responsible  office  of  Secretary  of  State,  in  the  year  1616. 
In  1617  Louis  conceited  and  executed,  through  his  agents, 
the  assassination  of  the  Marshal  d'Ancre,*  who  was  mur- 
dered on  the  bridge  of  the  Louvre,  on  the  morning  of  the 
26th  of  April,  1617 — a  crime  of  which  the  whole  moral 
responsibility  rests  upon  the  king  himself,  while  it  gained 
for  Luynes  the  sword  of  constable,  and  for  Vitry  the  baton 
of  a  marshal.!     In  the  month  of  July  following,  his  wife, 

*  Concino  Concini,  Marshal  d'Ancre,  was  a  Florentine  gentleman 
who  followed  Marie  de  Medicis  to  France,  where  he  married  Leonora 
Galigai,  the  foster-sister  of  the  queen,  over  whom  she  possessed  extraor- 
dinary influence.  He  became  the  first  equerry  and  house-steward  of 
his  royal  mistress,  and  was  the  confidant  of  the  intrigues  of  both  the 
king  and  the  queen  ;  was  marshal  of  France,  and  governor  of  Norman- 
dy, at  the  death  of  Henry  IV. ;  but  incurred  the  hatred  of  Luynes,  who, 
when  he  became  possessed  of  the  constable's  sword,  resolved  to  effect 
his  destruction.  He  was  about  to  divorce  Leonora,  in  order  to  many 
the  heiress  of  the  house  of  Vend6me,  when  he  was  assassinated  by 
Vitry,  captain  of  the  guard,  who  succeeded  to  the  baton  of  his  victim. 
Leonora  Galigai  made  many  enemies  by  her  hauteur  and  insolence. 
She  was,  upon  the  accusation  stated  in  the  text,  beheaded,  and  after- 
ward burned,  and  her  ashes  scattered  to  the  wind.  She  died  with  great 
courage. 

t  An  official  and  titled  dignity,  which  existed  in  the  Roman  Empire, 
under  the  name  of  comes  slabuli,  and  which  was  recognized  as  such 
during  the  first  race.  Under  the  two  following,  the  constable  had  the 
chief  command  of  the  army  after  the  king  himself,  whom  he  accom- 
panied into  action,  and  whose  sword  he  was  privileged  to  gird  on.  He 
was  also  intrusted  with  the  surveillance  of  the  royal  stables ;  and  held 
at  court,  as  well  as  in  the  army,  the  first  rank  after  the  king.  He  car- 
ried the  sword  of  state  erect  and  unsheathed  on  all  occasions  of  cere- 


22  LOUIS     XIV.     AXD 

Leonora  Galiga'i,  was  publicly,  executed  as  a  witch,  in  the 
Place  de  Grive :  but  the  worst  passions  of  the  king,  once 
awakened,  were  not  easily  appeased ;  and  his  next  act  of 
authority  was  to  deprive  the  Queen-Mother  of  her  rank 
and  honors,  and  to  banish  her  to  Blois,  rather  as  a  prisoner 
than  as  an  exile. 

Upon  this  occasion  two  prophecies  were  verified — that 
of  Henry  IV.,  when  he  foretold  the  cruelties  to  which 
Marie  de  Medicis  would  be  subjected  by  her  son,  and 
that  of  Paul  V.,  who  foreshadowed  the  future  hollowness 
of  Richelieu. 

The  young  secretary  of  state  inhabited  the  house  of  the 
dean  of  Lutjon,  at  the  time  of  Concini's  assassination  ;  and 
it  is  well  authenticated,  that  on  the  night  before  it  took 
place,  a  packet  was  delivered  to  the  dean,  with  strict 
injunctions  that  it  should  be  forthwith  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  bishop,  as  its  contents  were  of  the  most  serious  and 
pressing  importance.  Although  it  was  near  midnight,  the 
host  ventured  to  disturb  the  slumbers  of  his  guest  upon  so 
earnest  an  assurance  ;  and  having  been  admitted,  he  trans- 
mitted to  him  at  once  the  letter  and  the  intimation  he  had 
received.  The  bishop  broke  the  seal  calmly,  read  the  mis- 
sive to  an  end,  and  then  fell  into  a  revery ;  at  the  conclu- 
sion of  which  he  turned  toward  the  dean,  who  stood  still  at 
his  bedside,  and,  after  thanking  him  for  his  zeal,  remarked 
that  he  need  detain  him  no  longer,  as  the  affair  was  by  no 
means  pressing,  and  that  he  always  found  the  night  bring 
counsel.  After  which  he  thrust  the  letter  under  his  bol- 
ster, and  again  composed  himself  to  sleep. 

And  yet  the  fearful  document  was  indeed  of  no  common 
importance,  for  it  apprised  him  that  at  ten  o'clock  on  the 
morrow  the  Marshal  d'Ancre  would  be  assassinated ;   while 

mony.  Alberie  (in  1060)  was  the  first  constable ;  and  the  Duke  de 
Lesdiguieres,  who  died  in  1627,  was  the  last;  Louis  XIII.  having,  at 
that  period,  suppressed  the  dignity,  which  Napoleon  revived  in  our 
own  times,  in  favor  of  the  Prince  of  Wagram,  who  had  no  successor. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  23 

the  spot  on  which  the  deed  was  to  be  committed,  the 
names  of  those  who  were  intrusted  with  its  execution, 
and  the  details  of  the  whole  enterprise,  were  given  with 
a  minuteness  which  forbade  all  doubt  that  it  was  written 
by  one  well  acquainted  with  the  truth  that  he  advanced. 

Let  not  our  readers  overlook  the  fact,  that  the  state 
secretary  owed  his  elevation  to  the  unhappy  Marshal  and 
his  equally  unhappy  wife ;  and  they  will  assuredly  be 
ready  to  concede  that  the  term  applied  by  the  sovereign 
pontiff  to  the  crafty  and  ambitious  Bishop  of  Lucon, 
might  rightly  have  been  exchanged  for  one  of  far  darker 
signification. 

On  the  morrow  he  remained  in  his  closet  until  eleven 
o'clock ;  and  the  first  tidings  which  reached  him  when  he 
emerged  from  it  were  those  of  the  catastrophe  of  the  pre- 
vious hour.  Three  days  previously  to  this  occurrence,  and, 
as  if  he  could  have  foreseen  the  ruin  of  his  benefactors, 
and  was  anxious  to  secure  himself  from  a  participation  in 
their  fate,  he  had  dispatched  M.  de  Pontcourlay  to  Luynes, 
to  request  the  latter  would  assure  the  king  of  his  devotion 
to  his  person;  but  Louis  vouchsafed  no  comment  upon  the 
circumstance,  and  it  was  generally  believed  that  the  bishop, 
known  to  have  been  in  the  confidence  of  Concini,  had  fall- 
en into  disgrace  in  consequence.  Apprehensive,  himself, 
that  such  might  be  the  case,  he  accordingly  applied  to  the 
monarch  for  permission  to  follow  the  Queen-Mother  in  her 
exile — a  favor  which  was  at  once  conceded.  He  soon, 
however,  repented  the  step  that  he  had  taken  ;  and  after 
remaining  only  forty  days  at  Blois,  he  affected  to  believe 
that  he  was  suspected  of  disloyalty,  and  expressed  his  de- 
termination to  retire  to  a  priory  which  he  possessed,  near 
Mirabeau,  desiring,  as  he  asserted,  to  shut  himself  up 
with  his  books,  and  to  labor,  as  become  his  profession,  in 
the  extirpation  of  heresy.  But,  notwithstanding  the  short- 
ness of  his  sojourn  with  the  exiled  queen,  his  purpose  was 
attained ;  for  while,  on  taking  leave,  he  represented  to  the 


24  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

mistress  whom  he  was  about  to  abandon,  that  the  necessity 
which  had  arisen  for  his  departure  was  a  new  persecution, 
to  which  he  was  subjected  by  his  enemies,  in  consequence 
of  his  devotion  to  herself,  he  caused  it  to  be  represented  at 
court  as  an  act  of  obedience  to  what  he  felt  to  be  the 
wishes  of  the  king. 

The  arrogance  and  despotism  of  Marie  de  Medicis  had 
made  her  many  enemies,  and  these  wrere  not  idle  in  nour- 
ishing the  exasperation  of  the  monarch  against  her.  We 
have  already  stated  that  vindictiveness  formed  a  strong 
feature  in  his  character ;  and  having  once  roused  himself 
to  so  extreme  a  step  as  that  of  her  banishment,  he  lent  a 
ready  and  willing  ear  to  every  insinuation  which  tended  to 
justify  its  prolongation.  Bassompierre  relates  an  anecdote, 
which  tends  to  prove  that  neither  time  nor  absence  had 
weakened  this  feeling,  many  months  after  her  removal  to 
Blois  had  taken  place.  On  one  occasion  he  entered  the 
apartment  of  Louis  when  he  was  practicing  the  French 
hom,  and  ventured  to  expostulate  with  the  young  monarch, 
reminding  him  that  it  was  injurious  to  the  chest,  and  that  it 
had  shortened  the  life  of  Charles  IX.  "  You  are  wrong, 
Bassompierre,"  was  the  reply  of  the  king,  as  he  laid  his 
hand  on  the  duke's  shoulder;  "it  was  not  that  which  killed 
him.  It  was  his  having  exiled  his  mother,  Queen  Cath- 
erine, from  the  court  on  the  occasion  of  a  misunderstand- 
ing between  them,  and  his  having  afterward  recalled  her. 
Had  he  not  committed  that  imprudence  he  would  have 
lived  longer." 

Acting  upon  an  inverse  principle  to  that  of  his  predeces- 
sor, Louis  XIII.  not  only  continued  the  exile  of  his  mother, 
but  even  increased  its  rigor  to  an  extent  which  reduced  it 
to  absolute  imprisonment ;  and  Marie  de  Medicis,  at  length 
convinced  that  neither  time  nor  submission  would  lessen 
the  determined  estrangement  of  her  son,  resolved  to  eman- 
cipate herself  from  his  severity  ;  and  accordingly,  during 
the  night  of  the  22d  of  February,  1619,  with  the  assistance 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  25 

of  the  Duke  d'Epernon,*  she  escaped  from  the  castle  of 
Blois. 

The  princes,  always  ready  to  seize  upon  every  pretext 
for  revolt,  soon  gathered  round  the  royal  fugitive  ;  and  she 
found  herself  at  the  head  of  a  rebellious  force,  which  com- 
pelled the  king  to  assemble  an  army  in  order  to  suppress  it. 
Only  one  solitary  engagement,  however,  took  place  between 
the  opposing  parties,  in  which  the  monarch  charged  the 
enemy  in  person,  and  at  once  terminated  the  war.  "  Thus," 
says  Duplessis  Momay,  "  a  skirmish  of  a  couple  of  hours 
put  an  end  to  the  grandest  game  that  had  been  played  in 
France  for  two  centuries."  The  Queen-Mother  tendered 
her  submission,  and  was  admitted  to  an  interview  of  recon- 
ciliation with  her  son,  in  which  a  hollow  peace  was  made 
between  them ;  and  this  was  scarcely  done,  w#ien,  on  the 
departure  of  M.  de  Sillery  as  ambassador  to  Rome,  the 
first  cardinal's  hat  which  should  become  vacant  was  asked 
of  Gregory  XV.,  who  had  succeeded  Paul  V.,  for  the  Bishop 
of  Lucon,  and  promptly  conceded ;  for  on  the  5th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1622,  Armand-Jean  Duplessis  became  a  member 
of  the  Holy  Conclave,  and  thenceforth  assumed  the  name 
and  title  of  Cardinal  de  Richelieu. 

*  Nogaret  de  la  Valette,  Duke  d'Epernon,  or  Espernon,  the  represent- 
ative of  the  younger  branch  of  a  Gascon  family,  went  to  seek  his  fortune 
at  the  French  court,  under  the  name  of  Caumont.  After  the  death  of 
Charles  IX.,  he  first  attached  himself  to  the  King  of  Navarre,  afterward 
Henry  IV.  He  was  subsequently  admitted  to  the  familiarity  of  Henry  III., 
who  caused  him  to  study  politics  and  literature,  and  made  him  one  of 
his  favorites  (mignons).  Created  Duke  d'Epernon,  first  peer  of  France, 
admiral  of  France,  and  colonel-general  of  the  infantry  forces,  he  held 
several  governments.  After  the  death  of  Henry  III.,  D'Epernon  again 
allied  himself  to  Henry  IV.,  who  opposed  him  to  the  Duke  of  Savoy. 
During  the  reign  of  this  king,  he  lived  in  a  constant  state  of  misunder- 
standing both  with  him  and  the  court.  He  is  even  accused  of  having 
assisted  in  the  assassination  of  Henry ;  at  whose  death  he  convoked  the 
parliament,  caused  the  recognition  of  Marie  de  Medicis  as  regent,  and 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  public  affairs,  by  forming  a  private  coun- 
cil, of  which  he  was  the  chief.  Compelled  to  retire  from  the  court  dur- 
ing the  influence  of  the  Concini,  he  reappeared  there  after  their  fall. 
VOL.  I- B 


26  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

History  is  silent  as  to  the  nature  of  the  services  which 
procured  for  the  cardinal  this  two-fold  protection  ;  but  it 
is  certain  that  he  had  not  wasted  his  time  in  inaction  since 
his  affected  return  to  Mirabeau ;  for  some  time  subse- 
quently to  the  flight  of  the  Queen-Mother  from  Blois,  M. 
d'Arlincourt,  the  governor  of  Lyons,  having  ascertained 
that  he  had  left  Avignon,  where  he  had  been  residing  in 
disguise,  and  inferring  from  this  extraordinary  precaution 
that  he  was  about  to  rejoin  his  royal  mistress,  caused  him 
to  be  arrested  at  Vienne,  in  Dauphiny.  The  composure 
of  the  bishop  was,  however,  no  whit  ruffled  by  this  circum- 
stance ;  as,  with  perfect  politeness,  he  drew  from  his  pocket 
an  autograph  letter  of  the  king,  wherein  it  was  ordered 
that  all  governors  of  provinces  should  not  only  allow  him 
free  passage*,  but,  moreover,  assist  him  in  every  emergency. 

M.  d'Arlincourt  had  not,  nevertheless,  been  deceived  in  his 
suspicions.  Richelieu  was  in  fact  on  his  way  to  the  Queen- 
Mother  ;  but  it  had  become  extremely  doubtful  whether  it 
were  in  her  interests  or  those  of  the  king. 

Return  we  now  to  Anne  of  Austria  ;  the  "  Little  Queen," 
as  from  her  arrival  in  France  she  had  been  called,  to  dis- 
tinguish her  from  the  Queen-Mother. 

When  composing  the  household  of  the  Infanta,  Marie  de 
Medicis  had  placed  near  her  person  the  celebrated  Madame 
de  Chevreuse,  whose  first  husband  was  the  Charles  Albert 
de  Luynes,*  whose  favor  with  Louis  had  pushed  his  for- 
tune so  rapidly,  and  who  had  been  at  once  enriched  and 
ennobled  by  the  blood  of  the  unfortunate  Concini.  Histo- 
rians imply  that  this  selection  had  been  made  for  the  vilest 
purposes  by  the  Queen-Mother,  who  dreaded  that  the 
precocious  intellect  of  Anne  of  Austria  might  overcome 
the  lethargy  of  her  young  husband,  and  induce  him  to 
exchange  his  frivolous  pursuits  for  the  duties  of  his  exalted 
station.     Be  this  as  it  may,  and  the  suspicions  which  rest 

*  Marie  de  Rohan-Montbazon,  Duchess  de  Chevreuse,  was  the  daugh- 
ter of  Hercules  de  Rohan,  and  was  born  in  1600. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  27 

upon  Marie  de  Medicis  upon  this  subject  by  no  means  end 
in  what  we  have  here  stated,  it  is  certain  that  a  more  dan- 
gerous confidant  could  not  have  been  chosen  for  the  young 
and  inexperienced  bride  of  Louis  XIII. 

Vain  of  her  person,  coquettish  by  nature,  although  vir- 
tuous in  principle,  and  easily  deluded  by  all  that  bore 
an  appearance  of  mystery  or  romance,  Anne  of  Austria 
readily  fell  into  the  snare  which  had  been  prepared  for 
her ;  and  although  she  unquestionably  never  forgot  what 
was  due  to  her  own  honor,  either  as  a  woman  or  the  con- 
sort of  a  king,  she  accustomed  herself  too  easily  to  affect  a 
disregard  for  that  virtue  which  in  her  inmost  heart  she 
held  at  its  proper  value.  To  this  fatal  facility  may  be 
traced  much  of  the  unhappiness  and  mortification  of  her 
married  life. 

Madame  de  Chevreuse  was  the  more  dangerous,  that  she 
was  one  of  the  wittiest,  most  beautiful,  least  scrupulous, 
and  most  intriguing  woman  of  the  age.  During  the  life 
of  her  first  husband,  she  occupied  apartments  in  the  Louvre, 
and  her  advances  to  the  young  monarch  were  so  undis- 
guised, as  to  have  awakened  for  a  time  the  uneasiness  of 
Anne  of  Austria  ;  but,  soon  convinced  that  she  could  not 
overcome  the  indifference  of  Louis,  an  enterprise  to  which 
she  had  probably  been  urged  as  much  by  her  ambition  as 
by  any  softer  feeling,  she  turned,  like  an  able  tactician,  to 
the  young  queen,  who,  isolated,  and  rigorously  watched  by 
Marie  de*  Medicis,  was  ever  ready  to  welcome  every  ap- 
pearance of  attachment  ;  and  who,  consequently,  after  a 
few  reproaches,  which  the  subtile  Madame  de  Luynes  re- 
ceived rather  as  a  victim  than  as  a  culprit,  forgot  her  just 
cause  of  resentment,  and  ere  long  they  became  inseparable. 

On  the  death  of  the  constable,  his  widow  found  herself 
rich  beyond  her  hopes  ;  for  she  inherited  not  only  an  im- 
mense fortune,  but  also  all  the  diamonds  of  the  Marshal 
d'Ancre,  which  the  king  had  confiscated  in  her  favor  ;  and 
at  the  end  of  eighteen  months  she  remarried  with  Claude 


28  LOUIS      XIV.      A  N  D 

de  Lorraine,  Duke  de  Chevreuse,  the  second  and  hand- 
somest uf  the  Messieui-s  de  Guise,  but  a  man  of  double  her 
own  age.  Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  precocious 
spirit  of  intrigue  possessed  by  this  extraordinary  woman, 
from  the  fact  that  she  afterward  passed  into  a  proverb,  as 
is  proved  by  a  passage  in  one  of  the  letters  of  Bussy-Rabu- 
tin  to  his  cousin,  Madame  de  Sevigne,  in  which  he  urges 
her  to  pursue  her  correspondence  with  him  during  the 
period  of  his  service  in  the  army  of  the  Prince  de  Conde. 
"  The  cardinal  will  never  know  it,"  he  writes ;  "  and  even 
if  he  should  make  the  discovery,  and  send  you  a  lettre  de 
cachet,  it  is  a  fine  thing  for  a  woman  of  twenty  years  of  age 
to  be  involved  in  matters  of  state.  The  celebrated  Madame 
de  Chevreuse  did  not  begin  earlier." 

Such  was  the  intimate  associate  of  Anne  of  Austria, 
whose  continued  sterility  began  to  alienate  the  king,  and 
to  render  him  morose  and  distrustful,  while  it  ?ave  rise  to 
rumors  injurious  to  their  object,  whose  natural  levity  tended, 
unfortunately,  to  strengthen  the  suspicions  of  the  malevo- 
lent. The  first  tangible  cause  for  complaint,  upon  which 
Louis  could  ground  his  displeasure  and  estrangement,  was 
the  friendship  forme  J  between  the  young  queen  and  his 
brother  Gaston,  Duke  of  Anjou,  and  subsequently  of  Orleans. 
The  royal  brothers  had  never  loved  each  other,  for  they  dif- 
fered alike  in  temperament  and  habits ;  while  Marie  de 
Medicis  did  not  affect  to  conceal  her  preference  for  her 
younger  son,  whose  intellect  partook  of  that  of  Henry  IV., 
while  his  joyous  spirits  contrasted  advantageously  with  the 
moody  and  unsocial  nature  of  the  young  monarch.  It  was, 
beyond  all  doubt,  to  this  habitual  Lrayety  that  Gaston  was 
indebted  for  the  favor  of  Anne  of  Austria,  and  the  delight 
which  she  evinced  in  his  society  ;  it  is  possible,  also,  that 
ehe  hoped,  by  giving  free  course  to  her  flights  of  fancy,  and 
exhibiting  the  fascinations  alike  of  her  person  and  her  mind 
in  the  presence  of  his  own  brother,  that  she  might  ulti- 
mately succeed  in  inspiring  the  king  with  a  greater  taste 


THE     COURT     OP     FRANCE.  29 

for  her  society.  It  would  be  alike  monstrous  and  unnatu- 
ral to  impute  to  a  woman  just  emerging  from  girlhood  (for, 
be  it  remembered,  that  at  the  period  of  her  marriage  she 
had  only  attained  her  eleventh  year)  the  wish  seriously  to 
captivate  the  affections  of  a  stripling  of  fifteen,  who  was, 
moreover,  the  brother  of  her  husband  ! 

Here  again,  however,  the  machinations  of  Marie  de 
Medicis  were  painfully  successful ;  for,  with  that  love  of  in- 
trigue which  she  had  imported  from  the  court  of  Florence, 
she  encouraged  the  demonstrations  of  the  young  queen, 
and  aroused  in  the  bosom  of  Louis  a  jealousy  which  deep- 
ened the  hatred  that  he  had  long  felt  toward  Gaston,  whose 
vanity  delighted  in  exciting  the  anger  and  annoyance  of  the 
monaixh,  alike  openly  and  in  secret. 

Ere  long  the  king,  whose  health,  never  robust,  began  to 
give  way  under  the  effects  of  his  ungenial  temper,  had  a 
new  and  more  dangerous  rival,  of  whom,  however,  he  had 
not  the  most  remote  suspicion.  We  can  do  no  more  than 
allude  to  the  first  demonstration  of  this  passion,  which  was 
destined  to  operate  so  powerfully  on  the  after-fortunes  of 
Anne  of  Austria.  About  three  months  subsequently  to  the 
receipt  of  the  cardinal's  hat  by  Richelieu,  and  when  he  had 
already  begun  to  possess  himself  of  the  power  by  which  he 
became  aggrandized  on  the  degradation  of  his  royal  mas- 
ter, profiting  by  the  coldness  which  Louis  felt  toward  his 
young  consort,  and  which  he  did  not  make  an  effort  to  dis- 
guise, the  new  minister,  impelled  alike  by  his  ambition  and 
by  the  desire  of  gaining  the  affections  of  so  beautiful  a  prin- 
cess, dared,  says  a  writer  of  the  period,  to  make  proposals 
to  her,  unmeet  for  the  ears  of  a  princess,  and  unseemly  from 
the  lips  of  a  churchman* 

*  This  declaration  was  productive  of  fearful  results,  according  to  M. 
de  Montmerque,  who  asserts,  in  his  notes  to  the  Tales  of  Tallemant 
des  Reaux,  that  the  queen  complained  to  the  Marquis  de  Mirabel,  the 
Spanish  ambassador,  of  the  insult  to  which  she  had  been  subjected  by 
Richelieu;  and  the  marquis,  in  his  turn,  informed  the  Count  d'Olivares 


30  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

The  increasing  languor  of  the  king  had  at  this  period  cre- 
ated considerable  apprehensions  for  his  life ;  and  Richelieu 
was  aware  that,  in  the  event  of  his  demise,  both  the  young 
queen  and  himself  had  every  thing  to  fear ;  the  one  from 
the  hatred  of  Marie  de  Medicis,  and  the  other  from  that  of 
Gaston,  should  Anne  of  Austria  continue  childless  ;  nor  was 
the  latter  blind  to  this  alarming  truth  ;  and  whatever  want 
of  sympathy  might  exist  between  herself  and  Louis,  she 
was  quite  conscious  how  heavy  a  misfortune  her  widow- 
hood must  prove  at  such  a  crisis,  from  the  fearful  changes 
which  it  would  necessarily  produce  in  her  position. 

Richelieu  had,  nevertheless,  like  most  of  those  by  whom 
she  was  surrounded,  mistaken  the  real  character  of  Anne 
of  Austria ;  and  it  is  even  asserted  that,  misled  by  his  van- 
ity, he  interpreted  the  patience  and  self-command  with 
which  the  queen,  fearful  of  changing  into  an  enemy  the 
powerful  and  crafty  lover  at  her  feet,  compelled  herself  to 
listen  and  to  temporize  with  his  outrage  upon  her  virtue 
into  an  encouragement  of  his  hopes.  How  far  he  was  jus- 
tified in  this  opinion  may  be  gathered  from  the  result  of  the 
experiment ;  and  we  should  not  have  ventured  upon  the 
record  of  such  an  anecdote,  had  not  its  veracity  been  thor- 
oughly authenticated.  We  give  it,  therefore,  upon  the  faith 
of  M.  de  Brienne. 

Anxious  to  devise  some  method  of  curing  the  cardinal 
forever  of  his  presumptuous  passion,  Anne  of  Austria  con- 
fided to  Madame  de  Chevreuse  the  scene  to  which  we  have 
just  made  allusion ;  and  it  was  at  length  decided  between 
them  that  the  queen  should  affect  to  doubt  the  vows  which 
he  so  profusely  poured  forth,  and  exact,  as  a  proof  of  their 
sincerity,  that  Richelieu  should  dance  a  saraband  in  her 
presence,  in  the  costume  of  a  Spanish  jester.  The  queen 
declared  that  she  consented  to  the  experiment,  only  because 

of  the  circumstance,  who  ordered  him  to  effect  the  assassination  of  the 
cardinal,  for  having  dai'ed  to  made  such  a  proposition  to  the  daughter 
of  the  King  of  Spain. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  31 

she  felt  convinced  that  Richelieu,  at  once  a  churchman  and 
the  minister  of  a  great  nation,  would  never  submit  to  such 
a  degradation  ;  and  that,  consequently,  she  should  secure  a 
defense  against  the  prosecution  of  his  suit,  in  his  denial  to 
gratify  her  caprice ;  while  Madame  de  Chevreuse,  on  the 
contrary,  maintained  that  they  should  see  His  Eminence, 
castanets  in  hand,  at  any  hour  which  his  royal  mistress 
might  deem  expedient;  and  the  favorite  did  not  reason  idly, 
for  she  was  no  stranger  to  the  extent  of  Richelieu's  passion 
for  the  young  queen. 

Ten  o'clock  on  the  morrow  was  accordingly  appointed ; 
for  the  cardinal  at  once  verified  the  assurance  of  Madame 
de  Chevreuse,  only  stipulating  that  no  one  should  be  present 
but  Her  Majesty  during  the  travestie  save  Boccau,  a  musi- 
cian of  his  own  band,  of  whose  discretion  he  was  assured. 
Anne  of  Austria,  still  half-incredulous,  was  nevertheless  the 
first  to  declare  to  her  favorite  that  the  concession  of  the  car- 
dinal was,  should  he  indeed  fulfill  his  pledge,  at  once  too 
great  or  too  trifling  to  effect  her  purpose,  were  no  other 
spectator  of  the  ecclesiastical  masquerade  to  assist  her  in 
profiting  by  its  absurdity ;  and,  accordingly,  Madame  de 
Chevreuse,  Vauthier,  and  Beringhen,  two  of  the  gentlemen 
of  her  household,  were  concealed  behind  a  folding  screen 
in  her  cabinet ;  the  queen  still  persisting  that  the  precau- 
tion was  unnecessary,  for  that  the  cardinal  would  send  to 
excuse  himself,  and  Madame  de  Chevreuse  resolutely  as- 
serting that  he  would  appear  in  person ;  when,  punctually 
to  the  moment,  Boccau  made  his  entry,  armed  with  a  violin, 
and  announced  that  he  should  be  speedily  followed  by  His 
Eminence.     All  doubt  was  at  an  end. 

Ten  minutes  later  a  muffled  figure  appeared  upon  the 
threshold,  advanced  with  a  profound  salutation,  unfolded 
the  enormous  mantle  in  which  it  was  enveloped,  and  the 
cardinal  prime  minister  of  France  stood  before  the  wife  of 
its  monarch  in  a  tight  vest  and  trowsers  of  green  velvet, 
with  silver  bells  at  his  garters,  and  castanets  in  his  hands ! 


32  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

It  required  an  immense  effort  on  the  part  of  Anne  of 
Austria  to  restrain  the  mirth  which,  at  this  spectacle,  caus- 
ed her  to  lose  all  apprehension  of  the  consequences  that  it 
might  involve  ;  she  succeeded,  however,  in  preserving  suffi- 
cient gravity  to  receive  her  visitor  with  a  gracious  gesture, 
and  to  request  him  to  complete  his  self-abnegation  in  cour- 
teous and  fitting  terms. 

She  was  obeyed,  and  for  a  time  she  watched  with  both 
curiosity  and  amusement  the  evolutions  and  contortions  of 
the  cardinal ;  but  the  extreme  gravity  with  which  he  ex- 
ecuted his  task  at  length  rendered  the  spectacle  so  supreme- 
ly grotesque,  that  she  could  no  longer  preserve  her  self- 
possession,  and  gave  way  to  a  violent  fit  of  laughter.  Her 
merriment  was  instantly  reechoed  from  behind  the  screen ; 
and  Richelieu,  at  once  perceiving  that  he  had  been  betray- 
ed, strode  furiously  from  the  room ;  upon  which  the  merry 
trio  emerged  from  their  concealment,  delighted  with  the 
adventure  of  the  morning.  Little  did  they  guess  that  they 
had  roused  a  slumbering  serpent,  whose  sting  was  sure  and 
fatal !  Little  did  they  understand,  as  they  indulged  in  wit- 
ticisms of  which  the  cardinal-duke  was  the  subject,  that  he 
had,  as  he  left  the  palace,  vowed  an  undying  hatred  to  Anne 
of  Austria  and  her  favorite,  from  the  effects  of  which  nei- 
ther the  one  nor  the  other  was  destined  to  escape. 

"  This  anecdote  of  the  most  austere  minister  ever  known 
in  France,"  says  Dumas;  "this  condescension  of  the  proud- 
est gentleman  whom  nobility  ever  counted  in  its  ranks ;  in 
fine,  this  error  of  the  most  serious  man  whom  history  has 
celebrated  in  its  annals,  will  superabundantly  indicate  how 
high  an  importance  the  cardinal  attached  to  the  good  graces 
of  Anne  of  Austria." 

Now,  however,  all  was  over  between  them.  Neither  as 
a  man  nor  as  a  minister  could  Richelieu  forget  that  the 
queen  had  degraded  him,  not  only  in  his  own  eyes,  but  in 
those  of  her  private  friends.  Never,  since  he  had  knelt  in 
confession  at  the  feet  of  Paul  V.,  had  he  felt  his  position  to 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  33 

be  so  precarious.  Should  the  king  die,  his  fortune  was  at 
an  end ;  and  the  perspective  of  such  an  overthrow  was  ter- 
rible to  one  who  had  made  so  many  sacrifices  to  attain  to 
power.  A  ray  of  hope  came,  however,  to  his  relief,  when, 
in  the  spring  of  the  following  year  (1623),  a  report  of  the 
pregnancy  of  the  queen  was  promulgated  ;  but  it  was  des- 
tined to  be  short-lived,  for  three  months  had  scarcely  elaps- 
ed when  Anne  of  Austria,  while  at  play  with  Madame  de 
Chevreuse,  had  a  violent  fall,  which  destroyed  the  prospect 
that  had  filled  the  nation  with  delight. 

Certain  writers  of  the  time  have  endeavored  to  build  upon 
this  circumstance  the  most  disadvantageous  theories  relative 
to  the  young  queen,  and  affected  to  have  good  grounds  for 
assigning  the  paternity  of  the  expected  infant  to  the  cardi- 
nal; but  we  think  that  enough  has  been  shown  to  excul- 
pate her  from  the  accusation.  They  must  know  little  of  a 
woman's  nature  who  believe  that  she  can  ever  give  her  affec- 
tions to  a  man  whom  she  has  seen  guilty  of  a  gross  absurd- 
ity. She  may  forgive  a  vice,  but  she  never  shows  mercy  to 
a  ridicule. 


CHAPTER  II. 


Embassy  of  the  Earl  of  Carlisle — Lord  Rich — Demand  of  the  Hand  of 
Henrietta-Maria  for  the  Prince  of  Wales — Assent  of  Loui3  XIII. — 
Conditions — Lord  Rich  and  the  Duke  of  Buckingham — A  new  Em- 
bassy—  Buckingham  in  Paris  —  The  scattered  Pearls  —  Passion  of 
Buckingham  for  Anne  of  Austria — Price  of  a  Court  Lady — The  Fete 
— The  King's  Present — Disguises  of  the  English  Duke — The  Basque 
— The  White  Lady — The  Royal  Marriage — The  Court  at  Amiens — 
Courtly  Festivities — Tender  Regrets — A  garden  Interview — Unhappy 
Result — Parting  between  Anne  of  Austria  and  Buckingham — Deten- 
tion of  the  Bribe  of  Charles  I. — The  Messenger — Return  of  Bucking 
ham  and  Lord  Rich  to  Amiens — Interview  of  the  Duke  with  Anne 
of  Austria — The  Aiguillette — New  Leave-taking — Embarkation  of  the 
Bride  —  Intrigues  of  Marie  de  Medicis  —  A  suspicious  Argument — 
Surveillance  of  the  young  Queen  —  The  missing  Aiguillette  —  The 
Bride  —  The  triumphant  Minister — The  City  Ball — Tranquillity  of 
Anne  of  Austria — Defeat  of  the  Cardinal — The  Secret  revealed — 
Distrust  of  Louis  XIII. — The  Romance  of  Chalais — The  Conspiracy 
— The  Duke  d'Anjou — The  Princess  of  Vend6me — Proposed  Assas- 
sination of  Richelieu — The  Cardinal  at  Fleury — The  Hunt — Indis- 
cretion of  Chalais — The  Commander  de  Valance — The  Interview — 
Rochefort — Remorse  of  Chalais — The  Cardinal  in  his  Closet — The 
King  and  his  Minister — Guard  at  Fleury — The  Plot  defeated — The 
Duke  and  the  Cardinal — Politic  Politeness — Previsions  of  Richelieu. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE,  So 

The  next  phase  of  the  life  of  Anne  of  Austria  involved 
still  more  serious  results.  Hitherto  she  had  been  guilty- 
only  of  the  imprudence  attributable,  in  a  great  degree,  to 
her  youth,  and  she  was  enabled,  from  the  height  of  her 
own  innocence,  to  look  down  with  proud  contempt  on  the 
malevolence  of  her  enemies ;  but  the  vanity  of  her  nature, 
aided  by  constant  association  with  a  woman  so  unscrupu- 
lous and  so  venal  as  Madame  de  Chevreuse,  was  fated  to 
induce  her  to  acts  of  levity,  which  sullied  the  dignity  of 
her  character,  and  tended  to  justify  the  evil  opinions  of 
those  whom  personal  feeling,  or  party  spirit,  actuated  against 
her. 

In  1624,  the  Earl  of  Carlisle  was  sent  as  ambassador  ex- 
traordinary to  the  court  of  France,  to  ask  of  Louis  XIII. 
the  hand  of  his  sister,  Henrietta-Maria,  for  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  son  of  James  I. ;  and  returned  to  England  with  the 
assent  of  the  French  king,  provided  that  the  same  conces- 
sions were  made  to  Henrietta-Maria  which  had  previously 
been  promised  to  the  Infanta  of  Spain — to  whom,  before 
the  rupture  between  that  court  and  England,  the  prince 
had  been  betrothed.  James,  who  had  resolved  that  his  son 
should  not  (as  he  expressed  it)  be  degraded  by  an  alliance 
with  any  princess  who  was  not  of  the  blood-royal,  and  ap- 
prehensive that  if  he  hesitated  to  accept  the  terms  of  the 
French  king,  Charles  would  be  altogether  disappointed  of 
a  bride,  meekly  consented  to  comply ;  forgetting  or  will- 
fully overlooking  the  fact,  that  the  portion  of  Henrietta  was 
very  inferior  to  that  promised  with  the  Infanta,  and  that 
the  peaceable  restitution  of  the  palatinate,  which  he  had  so 
much  at  heart,  could  not  be  promoted  by  this  alliance. 

The  concessions  to  which  we  have  alluded  were  never 
made  public ;  or  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  they  would 
have  created  great  national  disaffection.  The  most  excep- 
tionable among  them  was  that  in  which  the  king  engaged 
that  the  princess  should  herself  direct  and  control  the  edu- 
cation of  her  children  until  they  had  attained  their  tenth 


36  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

year — which  condition  could  evidently  only  have  been  stip- 
ulated with  a  view  of  imbuing  their  minds  with  Romanist 
ideas  and  principles ;  but,  beside  this,  there  were  several 
private  articles  to  which  the  king  pledged  himself.  Among 
others,  to  suspend  the  execution  of  the  penal  laws  against 
the  Roman  Catholics;  to  cause  them  to  be  repealed  in  par- 
liament ;  and  to  tolerate  the  popish  rites  in  private  houses. 
Moreover,  as  the  prince  had  given  a  personal  pledge  to  the 
Infanta,  during  his  chivalrous  visit  to  Spain,  that  he  would 
commit  to  her  the  entire  education  of  her  children  until  their 
thirteenth  year,  this  article  was  also  inserted  in  the  treaty 
by  Richelieu,  and  accepted,  as  much  by  anxiety  on  the  part 
of  Charles  himself,  as  by  weakness  upon  that  of  his  father ; 
for,  while  on  his  way  to  Madrid  to  ask  the  hand  of  the  Span- 
ish princess,  accompanied  by  Buckingham,  the  prince  and 
his  attendants  had  passed  disguised  and  undiscovered  through 
France,  and  had  even  ventured  to  attend  a  court  ball,  where 
he  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  Princess  Henrietta,  then 
in  the  first  bloom  of  youth  and  beauty. 

The  Earl  of  Carlisle  was  accompanied  in  his  embassy  by 
Lord  Rich,  afterward  the  Earl  of  Holland,  whose  beauty 
of  person,  elegance  of  manner,  and  profuse  expenditure 
produced  a  very  favorable  effect  upon  the  ladies  of  the 
court ;  and  it  would  appear  that  the  English  noble  had 
been  no  less  impressed  by  the  beauty  of  the  fair  dames 
from  whom  he  was  so  soon  compelled  to  part ;  for,  on  his 
return  home,  he  expatiated  to  his  friend  the  Duke  of  Buck- 
ingham, in  no  measured  terms,  upon  the  pleasures  and  mag- 
nificence of  Paris,  concluding  his  report  by  the  declaration, 
that  there  was,  nevertheless,  one  object  at  the  French  court 
which  eclipsed  all  else,  alike  in  beauty  and  in  brightness, 
and  that  one  was  the  young  queen,  of  whom  he  drew  a  pic- 
ture which  more  than  sufficed  to  excite  the  daring  and  reck- 
less fancy  of  the  hot-headed  George  Villiers. 

Chosen,  as  the  representative  of  Great  Britain,  to  terminate 
the  negotiations  of  marriage,  Buckingham  arrived  in  Paris, 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  37 

in  his  turn,  magnificently  attended,  and  at  once  became  the 
idol  of  the  people,  the  admiration  of  the  ladies,  and  the 
aversion  of  every  handsome  cavalier,  alike  of  the  court  and 
the  city.  We  are  not  about  to  trace  the  mad  and  reckless 
career  of  the  hot-headed  envoy  ;  it  is  a  page  in  the  romance 
of  the  world's  history,  and  must  be  familiar,  in  nearly  all  its 
details,  to  nine  tenths  of  our  readers ;  we  shall  merely  re- 
mark that,  from  the  hour  of  his  entrance  into  the  presence, 
with  his  doublet  of  white  satin  embroidered  with  gold,  and 
his  mantle  of  silver-gray  velvet,  upon  which  the  oriental 
pearls  were  so  loosely  sewn,  that  he  scattered  them  at 
every  step  as  he  advanced,  for  the  profit  of  the  surrounding 
courtiers,  the  duke  produced  a  powerful  impression  on  the 
imagination  of  the  young  queen.  His  chivalric  devotion 
and  noble  bearing  were  in  accordance  with  her  national 
associations,  while  his  profusion  was  not  without  its  effect ; 
for  the  wars  which  the  princes  of  the  blood  had  succes- 
sively waged  against  the  state,  had  exhausted  the  treas- 
ure amassed  by  Henry  IV.,  and  reduced  his  successor  to 
an  income  very  inadequate  to  satisfy  the  necessities  of 
royalty. 

Buckingham  was  by  no  means  unconscious  of  his  ad- 
vantages, but  he  was  too  able  a  tactician  to  intrust  his  hopes 
of  success,  in  a  cause  in  which  he  was  so  much  in  earnest 
as  the  subjugation  of  the  heart  of  Anne  of  Austria,  to  mere 
adventitious  superiority.  He  was  soon  aware  that  he  was 
regarded  with  suspicion,  both  by  the  king  and  the  cardinal, 
and  he  instantly  felt  the  necessity  of  securing  an  able  and 
efficient  ally.  He  was  not  long  ere  he  arrived  at  a  decision. 
He  knew  that  by  half-measures  he  should  be  ruined,  for  he 
was  playing  for  a  desperate  stake  ;  and  he  had  heard  enough 
from  his  friend,  Lord  Rich,  to  believe  that  he  could  select 
no  confederate  half  so  genial  as  Madame  de  Chevreuse. 
It  is  asserted  that  the  court  lady  was  purchased  with  a  hun- 
dred thousand  livres,  and  the  loan  of  two  thousand  pistoles. 
"Whatever  were  her  price,  it  is  at  least  certain  that  it  was 


38  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

paid ;  and  that  Anne  of  Austria  was  betrayed  into  all  her 
levity  with  Buckingham  by  her  friend  and  favorite. 

Affecting  to  be  enamored  of  the  beautiful  duchess,  Buck- 
ingham was  constantly  beside  her,  save  when  the  interests 
of  his  mission  obliged  him  to  visit  the  Louvre,  or  to  wait 
upon  the  cardinal ;  while  the  same  pretext  enabled  him  to 
approach  the  person  of  the  queen  in  public,  and  to  treat  her 
with  a  respectful  tenderness,  which,  although  exaggerated 
in  the  subject  of  another  sovereign,  was  protected  by  its 
veiy  audacity. 

These  demonstrations,  however  flattering  though  they 
might  be  to  the  vanity  of  Anne  of  Austria,  by  no  means 
satisfied  the  views  of 'Buckingham.  His  aim  was  a  private 
interview ;  but  the  queen  was  too  closely  watched  to  enable 
even  her  crafty  and  intriguing  favorite  to  achieve  his  object. 
In  this  emergency,  Madame  de  Chevreuse,  prompted,  no 
doubt,  by  the  Mephistophiles  at  her  elbow,  proposed  to  give 
a  fete  at  her  hotel  in  honor  of  her  royal  mistress.  The 
courtesy  was  accepted  ;  and  the  king,  being  unable  to  ad- 
duce a  plausible  reason  for  absenting  himself  upon  such  an 
occasion  ;  or,  probably  unwilling  to  leave  the  queen  un- 
guarded to  the  familiar  contact  of  the  English  ambassador, 
also  signified  his  intention  to  be  present.  He  did  more,  for 
he  presented  to  her  a  splendid  shoulder-knot,  whence  de- 
pended twelve  diamond  tags. 

During  the  evening,  Buckingham  assumed  numerous  dis- 
guises, danced  in  a  ballet  of  demons,  and  lent  the  Chevalier 
de  Guise*  three  thousand  pistoles,  and  the  diamonds  of  the 
English  crown,  to  permit  him  to  appear  as  his  substitute 
in  a  masque  in  which  the  princes  of  the  sovereign  houses 
of  France  were  to  represent  the  oriental  kings  doing  hom- 
age to  Louis  and  his  queen.  In  this  disguise  he  was  se- 
lected by  Anne  of  Austria  as  her  partner  in  the  dance  ;  and 
had  full  opportunity,  amid  the  noise  and  hurry  of  the  festi- 

*  Son  of  Henry,  Duke  de  Guise,  surnamed  Le  Balafri,  and  younger 
brother  to  M.  de  Chevreuse. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  39 

val,  to  pour  into  her  ear  a  tale  of  passion,  for  which  Ma- 
dame de  Chevreuse  had,  without  doubt,  previously  pre- 
pared her. 

A  report  of  the  disguises  assumed  by  Buckingham  at  the 
fete  of  the  duchess  soon  reached  the  court,  and  it  doubled 
the  watchfulness  and  hatred  of  Richelieu ;  who,  well  aware 
that  she  was  the  confidant  and  accomplice  of  this  mad  pas- 
sion, extended  his  surveillance  to  her  also  ;  a  proceeding 
which  rendered  the  suit  of  the  adventurous  duke  so  des- 
perate, that  he  resolved  to  attempt  any  method,  however 
hazardous,  which  afforded  a  prospect  of  meeting  the  queen, 
once  at  least,  in  private.  The  only  means  which  could  be 
devised,  after  the  consent  of  Anne  of  Austria  was  obtained  to 
this  imprudence,  was  to  introduce  him  into  her  apartmenta 
in  the  garb  of  a  phantom,  said  to  have  haunted  the  Louvre 
for  centuries,  and  known  as  the  White  Lady.  Through 
the  expert  agency  of  Madame  de  Chevreuse  this  wild 
scheme  was  accomplished ;  but  Buckingham  had  scarcely 
been  closeted  five  minutes  with  the  queen,  when  an  alarm 
was  raised  of  the  approach  of  Louis,  and  the  duke  was  com- 
pelled to  make  a  rapid  retreat  by  a  private  stair-case.  This 
new  apparition  of  the  White  Lady  (who  had  not  succeeded 
in  leaving  the  palace  entirely  unobserved)  created  no  sus- 
picion in  the  mind  of  the  king,  as  he  put  firm  faith  in  the 
tradition  ;  but  Richelieu  was  not  so  easily  deceived ;  and 
he  soon  ascertained  through  his  agents  that  the  advent  of 
the  phantom  was  another  device  of  Buckingham.  Chance, 
however,  served  him  better  than  any  measures  which  he 
could  himself  devise  ;  for,  while  these  events  were  taking 
place,  news  arrived  at  the  court  of  the  death  of  James  I. 
of  England,  and  the  accession  of  Charles  I.  Coupled  with 
this  intelligence,  Buckingham  received  an  order  to  hasten 
the  marriage  of  his  new  sovereign  by  every  means  in  his 
power ;  and  the  cardinal,  who  desired  nothing  so  earnestly 
as  the  absence  of  the  English  envoy,  forthwith  wrote  to  the 
Pope,  to  inform  him,  that  if  he  did  not  immediately  forward 


40  LOUIS     XIV.     AXD 

the  dispensation,  the  marriage  would  take  place  without  his 
sanction;  an  announcement  which  produced  its  arrival  by 
a  special  courier. 

Buckingham  was  in  despair  ;  but  no  ingenuity  could  now 
suffice  to  prolong  his  sojourn  in  the  French  capital.  In  a 
few  weeks  the  royal  marriage  was  celebrated  by  the  Car- 
dinal de  la  Rochefoucauld,*  on  a  platform  erected  in  front 
of  the  entrance  of  Notre-Dame ;  M.  de  Chevreuse  acting 
as  proxy  for  the  English  king,  with  whom  he  claimed  rela- 
tionship through  Mary  of  Scotland, 

We  have  already  stated  that  Charles  had  once  seen  his 
bride  on  the  occasion  of  a  state  ball ;  and  the  impression 
which  he  had  carried  away  of  her  personal  charms  caused 
him  to  urge  her  immediate  departure  for  England  ;  the 
court,  consequently,  without  loss  of  time,  started  for  Amiens, 
whither  they  were  to  accompany  the  young  queen ;  and  it 
was  in  this  city  that  the  imprudence  of  Anne  of  Austria  and 
the  audacity  of  Buckingham  reached  their  climax. 

Madame  de  Motteville,t  Tallemant  des  Beaux,  and  La- 

*  A  descendant  of  one  of  the  most  ancient  and  illustrious  houses  of 
France,  which  was  originally  of  Angoumois,  and  into  which  that  of  the 
counts  of  Roucy  was  merged  in  1557.  Francis  V.,  who  died  in  1650, 
was  the  first  duke ;  and  from  the  brother  of  his  great-grandfather  de- 
scended Anthony  de  la  Rochefoucauld,  who  was  general  of  the  galleys 
in  1528,  died  in  1537,  and  was  the  ancestor  of  the  branch  of  the  mar- 
quises of  Langeac.  Another  ramification,  that  of  the  counts  of  Randau, 
terminated  in  the  person  of  John-Louis  de  la  Rochefoucauld,  killed  at 
Issoire,  in  1590. 

t  Frances  Bertaut,  lady  of  Motteville,  was  the  daughter  of  a  gentle- 
man-in-wTaiting,  and  received  an  appointment  about  the  person  of  Anne 
of  Austria.  She  was,  however,  dismissed  by  Richelieu,  and  during  her 
exile  from  court,  married  the  First  President  of  the  Chamber  of  Rec- 
ords at  Rouen,  who,  two  years  subsequently,  left  her  a  widow.  Re- 
called to  court  in  1644,  she  remained  with  the  queen  until  her  death, 
and  survived  her  royal  mistress  until  1689.  Her  Memoirs  to  elucidate 
the  History  of  Anne  of  Austria,  which  extend  through  six  volumes,  in 
12mo,  are  very  curious,  and  full  of  the  most  minute  details  on  the  man- 
ners and  cabals  of  the  court  at  that  period. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  41 

porte,*  alike  relate  an  adventure  which  proves  that  even 
while  Anne  of  Austria  preserved  her  virtue  intact  (and, 
whatever  were  the  opinions  of  the  time,  posterity  has,  upon 
this  point,  done  her  justice),  she  nevertheless  occasionally 
placed  it  in  peril ;  and  only  extricated  herself  resolutely  at 
the  eleventh  hour,  from  difficulties  which  it  would  have 
been  at  once  more  simple  and  more  dignified  to  have 
avoided  altogether.  Such  was  the  case  at  Amiens  on 
the  evening  preceding  the  departure  of  Henrietta  for 
England. 

This  city,  which  had  never  before  boasted  the  simulta- 
neous presence  of  three  queens,  and  which  now  possessed 
Marie  de  Medicis,  Anne  of  Austria,  and  Henrietta  of 
.  England,  did  not  afford  fitting  accommodations  for  so 
many  and  such  illustrious  visitors,  under  the  same  roof; 
and  thus  each  occupied  a  separate  hotel.  That  assigned 
to  Anne  of  Austria  was  situated  on  the  bank  of  the  Somme, 
and  had  large  gardens,  which  descended  to  the  river;  an 
advantage  which  rendered  it  the  favorite  rendezvous  of 
the  other  princesses,  and  consequently  of  the  rest  of  the 
court,  whose  stay  at  Amiens  had  been  prolonged,  by  every 
means  in  his  power,  by  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  who 
counted  the  hours  which  yet  remained  to  him  upon  the 
French  territory  with  jealous  anxiety.  Not  a  pleasure 
had  been  spared  to  induce  delay  ;  and  in  every  expedient 
the  ambassador  was  eagerly  seconded  by  the  three  queens, 
who  found  the  diversions  of  Amiens  a  delightful  exchange 
for  the  languor  and  ennui  of  the  Louvre.  The  liberty 
was  also  rendered  more  perfect  by  the  fact,  that  the  king 
and  the  cardinal  had,  three  days  previously,  been  com- 
pelled to  return  to  Fontainebleau.  Thus  nothing  was 
thought  of,  nothing  projected  but  amusement ;  and  there 
was  probably  no  member  of  the  courtly  circle  who  did 
not  witness  with  regret   the   advent   of  the   last   evening 

*  Train-bearer  to  Anne  of  Austria,  and  afterward  first  valet-de-cham- 
bre  to  Louis  XIV. 


42  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

which  Madame  Henrietta  was  to  pass  in  the   bosom  of 
her  family. 

Among  these  regrets  there  is  little  doubt  that  those  of 
Anne  of  Austria  and  Buckingham  were  the  most  poignant. 
Deeply  imbued  with  the  romance  of  her  native  country, 
the  Infanta  was  about  to  part  from  the  only  man  who  had 
realized  in  her  eyes  the  poetry  of  her  imagination ;  to  ex- 
change the  chivalric  devotion  of  an  adventurous  and  high- 
hearted lover,  for  the  society  of  a  moody  and  distrustful 
husband ;  and  to  find  herself  cast  down  from  the  proud 
elevation  of  a  beloved  and  idolized  beauty,  to  the  chilling 
depths  of  a  suspected  and  neglected  wife.  Let  us  at 
once  admit  that  now,  when  party  spirit  is  laid  at  rest, 
and  individual  prejudices  are  buried  in  the  grave,  some, 
indulgence  may  well  be  conceded  to  her  youth ;  and  that 
while  we  are  compelled  to  regret  her  imprudence,  an 
imprudence  the  more  reprehensible  that  she  had  to  sup- 
port her  station  as  a  queen  as  well  as  her  dignity  as 
a  woman,  we  may  nevertheless  infer  that  the  trial  was 
perhaps  beyond  her  strength.  Buckingham,  moreover, 
was  no  common  lover.  The  court  of  France  offered  no 
example  of  the  reckless,  uncalculating,  and  indomitable 
spirit  with  which  he  braved  every  danger  and  every  diffi- 
culty, in  pursuit  of  the  one  coveted  object.  To  him 
kings  and  cardinals  were  alike  indifferent ;  he  acknowl- 
edged no  fear ;  recognized  no  peril ;  his  whole  soul  was 
absorbed  in  his  passion,  and  he  deemed  no  sacrifice  too 
great  to  insure  its  success.  They  were  about  to  part, 
probably  forever;  and  it  is  in  this  fact  that  we  have  en- 
deavored to  find  some  excuse  for  the  weakness  of  Anne 
of  Austria ;  who,  according  to  the  authorities  already 
quoted,  so  far  forgot  her  self-respect  as  a  sovereign,  as  to 
separate  herself  from  her  court  on  the  last  evening  of  its 
sojourn  at  Amiens,  and  to  wander  alone  with  Bucking- 
ham, long  after  twilight,  among  the  shades  of  the  garden 
shrubberies. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  43 

Ere  long  a  piercing  cry  was  heard,  and  the  voice  of 
the  queen  was  at  once  recognized ;  when  instantly,  M.  de 
Putange,  her  first  equerry,  sprung  into  the  shrubbery 
6\vord  in  hand,  and  saw,  as  it  is  asserted,  Anne  of  Austria 
struggling  in  the  arms  of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham.  On 
perceiving  Putange,  Buckingham  also  drew  his  sword, 
but  the  queen  rushing  between  them,  and  desiring  the 
duke  to  retire  lest  he  should  compromise  her,  she  was 
obeyed  without  hesitation ;  and  this  had  scarcely  been 
effected,  ere  the  whole  of  the  courtiers  were  collected 
about  their  royal  mistress,  anxiously  inquiring  the  cause 
of  her  teiTor.  Anne  of  Austria  called  up  her  presence  of 
mind,  and  answered,  that  the  duke  had  suddenly  left  her 
alone  in  the  darkness ;  and  that,  terrified  on  finding  her- 
self in  so  unusual  a  position,  she  had,  without  considering 
the  alarm  which  such  an  expedient  must  necessarily  create, 
cried  aloud  in  order  to  summon  some  one  to  her  presence. 

The  idea  did  credit  to  her  ingenuity,  but  it  failed  to 
convince  her  auditors ;  and  neither  the  ball  of  Madame 
de  Chevreuse,  nor  the  episode  of  the  palace-phantom, 
bore  so  heavily  upon  the  reputation  of  Anne  of  Austria 
as  this  adventure  on  the  banks  of  the  Somme. 

On  the  morrow,  the  Queen-Mother  expressed  her  de- 
termination to  accompany  her  daughter  a  few  leagues 
on  her  way,  ere  she  bid  her  a  final  farewell ;  and  when 
they  ultimately  parted,  Buckingham  rendered  his  leave- 
taking  with  Anne  of  Austria  so  conspicuous,  that  it  served 
to  strengthen  all  the  prejudices  which  had  been  excited 
against  her :  while  overcome,  probably,  by  the  memories 
of  the  past  and  the  anticipations  of  the  future,  she,  on 
her  side,  lost  all  her  self-possession,  and  remained  drowned 
in  tears  during  the  return  to  Amiens.  This  want  of  cau- 
tion was  the  more  imprudent  that  she  traveled  in  the  same 
carriage  with  the  Queen-Mother,  the  Princess  of  Conti, 
and  a  lady  of  the  court ;  and  thus  exposed  herself  to  sus- 
picions which,  without  doubt,  outran  the  truth. 


44  LOUIS     XIV,     AND 

On  his  arrival  at  Boulogne,  Buckingham  found  the  ele- 
ments favorable  to  his  passion.  A  succession  of  high 
winds  had  rendered  the  sea  so  rough  as  to  preclude  all 
possibility  of  the  departure  of  Madame  Henrietta;  who 
easily  consoled  herself  for  the  delay,  by  remembering  that 
she  was  still  upon  her  native  soil.  Nor  was  the  English 
duke  a  whit  less  philosophical.  If  he  did  not  possess 
the  consolation  which  presented  itself  to  the  queen  of 
Charles  I.,  he  had  the  still  dearer  one  of  knowing  that  he 
was  yet  within  reach  of  the  idol  of  his  affections ;  and  that 
the  feeling  was  reciprocated  he  had  soon  ample  proof,  by 
the  ai-rival  of  Laporte  at  Boulogne ;  ostensibly  to  inquire 
into  the  movements  of  Madame  Henrietta  and  the  Duchess 
de  Chevreuse,  by  whom  she  was  to  be  accompanied  to 
England. 

It  needed  little  discernment  on  the  part  of  the  by- 
standers to  decide  that  the  official  inquhy  of  the  messen- 
ger by  no  means  laid  bare  the  whole  of  his  mission,  but 
the  exact  nature  of  its  duties  never  transpired.  The 
rough  weather  lasted  for  eight  days,  and  during  that  in- 
terval Laporte  made  three  journeys  to  the  coast ;  while, 
in  order  to  facilitate  his  movements,  M.  de  Chaulnes,  the 
provisional  governor  of  Amiens,  left  the  city  gates  open 
all  night.  On  his  return  from  the  third  journey,  Laporte 
informed  Anne  of  Austria  that  she  would  see  Buckingham 
again  that  very  evening.  The  duke  had  stated  that  the 
receipt  of  a  dispatch  from  his  sovereign  would  oblige  him 
to  have  another  conference  with  the  Queen-Mother;  and 
that  he  should  leave  Boulogne  three  hours  after  the  royal 
messenger ;  moreover,  he  privately  implored  Anne  of  Aus- 
tria, in  the  name  of  the  love  he  bore  her,  to  afford  him  an 
opportunity  of  taking  leave  of  her  alone. 

The  request  was  one  which  agitated  the  queen  with 
fear,  and  filled  her  with  anxiety.  She  well  knew  the 
reckless  and  overbearing  character  of  her  English  lover, 
and  felt  too  late   the  danger  to  which    her  unmeasured 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  45 

condescension  had  subjected  her  safety.  Only  a  few 
hours  remained  to  her  for  decision ;  and  pressed  by  her 
consciousness  of  the  peril  to  which  she  was  exposed,  and 
it  may  be  also,  by  her  innate  feeling  of  tenderness  for 
the  duke,  she  determined  at  once  to  affect  a  sudden 
indisposition,  and  to  request  her  ladies  to  withdraw  in 
consequence.  Her  project  was,  however,  rendered  un- 
availing by  the  entrance  of  Nogent  Bautru,*  who  publicly 
announced  the  arrival  of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham  and 
Lord  Rich,  to  treat  on  some  affair  of  importance  with  the 
Queen-Mother.  In  this  emergency  Anne  of  Austria  felt 
that  she  had  no  alternative  but  to  play  out  her  personage 
to  the  end ;  and  accordingly  she  lost  no  time  in  sending 
for  her  physician  and  causing  herself  to  be  bled :  but 
despite  her  entreaties,  and  almost  her  commands,  she 
could  not  rid  herself  of  the  attendance  of  the  Countess  de 
Lannoy,  who  persisted  in  watching  by  her  bedside ;  and 
finding  that  she  was  resolved  on  fulfilling  the  duties  of 
her  office  to  the  letter,  the  young  queen  did  not  venture 
to  insist  on  her  obedience,  having  already  had  occasion 
to  suspect  that  the  zealous  lady  of  honor  was  in  the  in- 
terests of  the  cardinal ;  and  she  was  consequently  com- 
pelled to  await,  in  increased  anxiety,  the  issue  of  the 
adventure. 

Her  worst  apprehensions  were  realized  when,  at  a  late 
hour,  the  Duke  of  Buckingham  was  announced. 

During  the  interview  which  ensued,  the  duke  was  more 
passionate  and  more  unguarded  than  he  had  ever  before 
been ;  and  replied  to  the  remonstrances  of  the  lady  of 
honor  by  a  vehement  declaration  of  his  love  for  her  royal 
mistress ;  ultimately  rushing  from  the  room  in  a  state 
of  agitation  unbecoming  alike  to  his  own  manhood,  and 
the  respect  which  was  due  to  the  exalted  personage  whom 
he  quitted. 

*  Nicholas  Bautru,  Count  de  Nogent,  jester  at  the  court  of  Anne  of 
Austria. 


48  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

He  was  no  sooner  gone  than  the  queen,  aware  that  she 
could  not  be  further  compromised  by  the  countess,  in- 
sisted upon  her  immediate  absence ;  and  without  loss  of 
time  summoned  Dona  Estefania,  a  Spanish  lady,  who  had 
accompanied  her  from  her  own  country,  and  in  whom  she 
had  entire  confidence ;  and,  brushing  away  her  tears,  she 
wrote  a  letter  to  Buckingham,  in  which  she  besought  him 
immediately  to  leave  France.  This  done,  she  gave  into 
the  charge  of  her  attendant  not  only  the  letter,  but  also 
a  casket  containing  the  aiguillette,  with  its  diamond  pend- 
ants, which  had  been  presented  to  her  by  the  king,  and 
in  which  she  had  appeared  at  the  ball  of  Madame  de 
Chevreuse.  The  first  she  knew  would  inflict  a  pang ;  and 
the  second  was  intended  to  heal  the  wound,  by  serving  as 
a  memorial  of  their  friendship. 

It  may  for  a  moment  create  surprise,  that  the  queen 
should  venture  to  dispossess  herself  of  so  recently  acquired 
and  so  remarkable  an  ornament ;  but  be  it  remembered 
that  her  resources  were  scanty,  that  she  had  already  done 
honor  to  the  present  of  the  king  by  appearing  with  it 
upon  her  person  in  public ;  and  that,  while  as  a  sovereign, 
she  could  not  offer  to  the  magnificent  duke  a  remembrance 
without  some  intrinsic  value,  she  was  also  enabled,  by 
sacrificing  the  jewel  in  question,  to  gratify  her  softer  feel- 
ings, by  the  conviction,  that  as  this  was  a  decoration  worn 
indifferently  by  both  sexes,  Buckingham  would  be  re- 
minded of  her  whenever  it  formed  a  portion  of  his  dress. 

On  the  morrow  Anne  of  Austria  took  leave  of  the  En- 
glish envoy  in  presence  of  all  the  court,  and  his  bearing 
was  that  of  a  finished  gentleman  and  a  respectful  courtier. 
No  eye  could  detect  a  glance,  no  ear  gather  up  a  sentence, 
which  was  not  in  accordance  with  the  most  scrupulous 
etiquet.  Buckingham  earned  away  with  him  a  pledge 
of  royal  regard  which  almost  consoled  him  for  his  de- 
parture. 

Three  days  afterward,  Madame  Henrietta  and  her  suite 


THE     COURT     OF     FRAKCE.  47 

embarked  for  England ;  and  the  cardinal,  early  informed 
by  Madame  de  Lannoy  of  the  scene  between  Anne  of  Aus- 
tria and  Buckingham,  lost  no  time  in  detailing,  not  only  this, 
but  also  the  adventure  of  the  garden  to  Louis ;  whose  in- 
difference toward  the  queen  was  rapidly  degenerating  into 
hate,  thanks  to  the  imprudence  of  Anne  of  Austria  herself, 
and  the  evil  offices  of  the  Queen-Mother;  who  believed 
that  she  saw,  in  this  estrangement  between  the  royal  pair, 
the  guaranty  of  her  own  authority.  Richelieu  profited, 
with  his  usual  ability,  of  these  two  new  causes  of  suspi- 
cion ;  and  the  result  of  the  impression  which,  by  his  repre- 
sentations, he  produced  upon  the  mind  of  the  king,  was  the 
dismissal  and  disgrace  of  several  members  of  the  queen's 
household.  Among  others,  Madame  de  Vernet  met  the 
former  fate,  and  M.  de  Putange  the  latter.  Louis  was 
probably,  in  his  secret  heart,  unable  to  forgive  him,  either 
his  discovery,  or  the  escape  of  Buckingham  from  the  gar- 
den of  Amiens. 

The  levity  of  Anne  of  Austria  had  strengthened  the  hands 
of  the  Queen-Mother,  acerbated  the  jealousy  of  Richelieu, 
and  greatly  injured  her  cause  in  the  public  mind ;  and  this 
at  a  moment  when,  deprived  of  the  support  of  Madame  de 
Chevreuse,  she  was  less  than  ever  able  to  contend  against 
the  increasing  difficulties  of  her  position.  Marie  de  Medi- 
cis  in  this  conjuncture  put  forth  all  her  talent  for  intrigue ; 
and  while  she  affected  great  anxiety  to  effect  a  reconcilia- 
tion between  the  royal  pair,  she  nevertheless  attempted  no 
interference  with  the  extreme  act  of  the  king  in  disorganiz- 
ing the  household  of  his  consort ;  but  when  the  arrange- 
ment was  completed,  and  that  she  knew  Anne  of  Austria 
to  be  without  one  confidential  friend,  she  took  her  son  apart, 
and  endeavored  to  prove  to  him,  that  despite  all  appear- 
ance the  queen  was  innocent ;  that  her  regard  for  Bucking- 
ham had  never  exceeded  the  limits  of  propriety,  and  that 
she  had  been  too  well  guarded  to  have  had  an  opportunity 
of  compromising  his  dignity. 


48  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

Louis  listened  moodily.  He  had  no  faith  in  the  assur- 
ance ;  nor  was  he  inclined  to  give  Anne  of  Austria  any 
credit  for  the  preservation  of  a  virtue  which,  according  to 
the  view  of  the  case  now  presented  to  him,  was  dependent 
upon  the  watchfulness  of  those  by  whom  she  was  surround- 
ed. The  master-stroke  of  the  wily  Florentine  was,  howev- 
er, still  to  come.  As  a  climax  to  her  argument,  she  declared 
herself  to  be  the  more  anxious  that  he  should  overlook  the 
past,  as  she  felt  that  the  position  of  the  queen  was  precisely 
similar  to  her  own,  when  the  high  spirits  and  thoughtless- 
ness incident  to  youth  had  occasionally  caused  her  to  ex- 
cite the  suspicion  and  displeasure  of  her  husband,  Henry 
IV.,  although  her  own  conscience  acquitted  her  of  all 
blame. 

The  effect  which  such  an  argument  must  produce,  even 
upon  the  mind  of  her  own  son,  requires  no  explanation  ; 
nor  is  it  wonderful  that,  when  they  parted,  Louis  XIII.  was 
more  than  ever  convinced  of  the  guilt  of  his  royal  consort. 
His  next  act  of  hostility  toward  her  was  the  dismissal  of 
the  faithful  Laporte,  in  whom  she  had  the  most  entixe  con- 
fidence, and  who  was  devoted  to  her  service.  Madame  de 
la  Boissiere  alone  was  retained  near  her  person  ;  and  no 
more  efficient  and  repelling  duenna  could  have  been  select- 
ed. The  surveillance  was  complete.  Coupled  with  this 
open  persecution,  a  secret  conspiracy  was  in  action  against 
Anne  of  Austria  of  which  she  had  no  suspicion.  Madame 
de  Lannoy,  the  zealous  spy  of  the  cardinal,  had  detected  the 
disappearance  of  the  diamond  aiguillette  from  the  queen's 
casket ;  and,  with  the  ready  perception  of  malice,  she  sug- 
gested to  Richelieu  that  it  had,  in  all  probability,  been  sent 
to  Buckingham  as  a  parting  present.  The  cardinal  lost  not 
an  instant  in  writing  to  one  of  the  ladies  of  Charles's  court 
who  was  in  his  interest — for,  like  the  spider,  he  attached 
his  web  on  every  side — offering  to  present  her  with  fifty 
thousand  livres  if  she  could  succeed  in  cutting  away  a  couple 
of  the  tags  of  the  shoulder-knot,  the  first  time  that  Bucking- 


THE     COURT      OF     FRANCE.  49 

ham  appeared  in  it,  and  forwarding  them  forthwith  hy  a 
safe  messenger  to  himself. 

A  fortnight  afterward,  the  two  tags  were  in  the  posses- 
sion of  Richelieu.  The  duke  had  worn  the  the  aiguillette 
at  a  state  ball,  and  the  emissary  of  the  cardinal  had  cut 
away  a  couple  of  its  pendants  unobserved.  The  vindictive 
minister  gloated  over  his  prize !  Now,  as  he  believed,  his 
revenge  was  certain. 

The  first  care  of  Richelieu  was  to  cany  the  diamonds  to 
the  king,  and  to  acquaint  him  with  the  method  by  which 
they  had  been  procured.  Louis  examined  them  closely. 
There  could  be  no  doubt  that  they  had  indeed  formed  a 
portion  of  the  ornament  which  had  been  his  last  present  to 
his  wife ;  his  pale  brow  flushed  with  indignant  rage ;  and, 
before  the  cardinal  left  the  royal  closet  every  precaution 
was  taken  to  insure  the  speedy  exposure  of  the  queen. 

On  the  following  morning,  Louis  himself  announced  to 
Anne  of  Austria  that  a  ball,  given  by  the  civil  magistrates 
of  Paris,  at  the  town-hall,  would  take  place  the  day  but 
one  following;  and  he  coupled  this  information  with  the 
request  that,  in  order  to  compliment  both  himself  and  the 
magistrates,  she  would  appear  in  the  aiguillette  which  he 
had  lately  presented  to  her.  She  replied  simply  and  calmly 
that  he  should  be  obeyed. 

The  eight-and-forty  hours  which  were  still  to  intervene 
before  his  vengeance  could  be  accomplished,  appeared  so 
many  centuries  to  the  cardinal-duke.  Anne  of  Austria  was 
now  fairly  in  the  toils,  and  still  her  composure  remained 
unruffled.  How  was  this  apparent  tranquillity  to  be  ex- 
plained 1  Richelieu  had  already  experienced  that,  aided 
by  Buckingham  and  Madame  de  Chevreuse,  she  had  pos- 
sessed the  power  to  baffle  even  Ms  ingenuity  ;  but  she  now 
stood  alone  ;  and  even  had  she  ventured  upon  so  dangerous 
a  step  as  that  of  replacing  the  jewels,  he  well  knew  that  on 
the  present  occasion  she  possessed  neither  the  time  nor  the 
means. 

vol.  i. — C 


50  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

The  hour  of  the  festival  at  length  struck ;  and  as  it  had 
been  arranged  that  the  king  should  first  make  his  entrance 
into  the  ball-room,  accompanied  by  his  minister,  and  that 
the  queen  should  follow,  attended  by  her  own  court,  Riche- 
lieu was  enabled  to  calculate  upon  commencing  his  tri- 
umph from  the  very  moment  of  her  appearance  upon  the 
threshold. 

Precisely  an  hour  before  midnight,  the  queen  was  an- 
nounced, and  every  eye  at  once  turned  eagerly  toward  her. 
She  was  magnificent  alike  in  loveliness  and  in  apparel.  She 
wore  a  Spanish  costume,  consisting  of  a  dress  of  green  satin, 
embroidered  with  gold  and  silver,  having  hanging  sleeves, 
which  were  looped  back  with  large  rubies,  serving  as  but- 
tons. Her  ruff  was  open,  and  displayed  her  bosom,  which 
was  extremely  beautiful;  and  upon  her  head  she  had  a 
small  cap  of  green  velvet,  surmounted  by  a  heron-feather ; 
while  from  her  shoulder  depended  gracefully  the  aiguillette, 
with  its  twelve  diamond  tags. 

As  she  entered,  the  king  approached  her;  avowedly  to 
offer  his  compliments  upon  her  appearance,  but  actually  to 
count  the  tags.  His  arithmetic  amounted  to  a  dozen.  The 
cardinal  stood  a  pace  behind  him,  quivering  with  rage.  The 
twelve  tags  were  hanging  from  the  shoulder  of  the  queen, 
and,  nevertheless,  he  grasped  two  of  them  in  his  hand  at 
the  same  moment.  Ay,  in  his  hand;  for  he  had  resolved 
not  to  lose  an  instant  in  triumphing  over  the  proud  and  in- 
solent beauty  who  had  laughed  his  passion  to  scorn,  and 
made  him  a  mark  for  the  ridicule  of  her  associates.  The 
vow  that  he  uttered  in  his  heart,  as  he  gazed  upon  her  calm 
and  defying  brow  that  night,  probably  cost  Buckingham 
his  life ;  for  Richelieu  was  not  duped  by  the  belief  that  the 
shoulder-knot  of  the  duke,  from  whence  his  own  two  tags 
had  been  severed,  was  not  identical  with  that  now  floating 
over  the  arm  of  Anne  of  Austria. 

The  plot  had,  nevertheless,  failed ;  and  once  more  the 
cardinal  was  beaten  upon  his  own  ground. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  51 

It  is,  however,  time  that  we  should  disclose  the  secret  of 
this  apparently  mysterious  incident  to  our  readers. 

On  his  return  from  the  state  ball,  at  which  he  had  ap- 
peared with  the  aiguillette  of  Anne  of  Austria,  Bucking- 
ham, who  would  confide  to  no  one  the  care  of  this  precious 
ornament,  was  about  to  restore  it  to  its  casket,  when  he 
perceived  the  subtraction  which  had  taken  place,  and  for  a 
moment  abandoned  himself  to  a  fit  of  anger,  believing  that 
he  had  been  made  the  victim  of  a  common  theft ;  an  in- 
stant's reflection,  however,  convinced  him  that  such  was  not 
likely  to  be  the  case,  as  he  had  upon  his  person  jewels  of 
greater  value,  which  it  would  have  been  equally  easy  to 
purloin,  and  these  all  remained  intact.  A  light  broke  upon 
him — he  suspected  the  agency  of  his  old  enemy  and  rival, 
the  cardinal-duke  ;  and  his  immediate  measure  was  to  place 
an  embargo  upon  the  English  ports,  and  to  prohibit  all  mas- 
ters of  vessels  from  putting  to  sea,  under  pain  of  death. 
During  the  operation  of  this  edict,  which  created  universal 
astonishment  throughout  the  country,  the  jeweler  of  Buck- 
ingham was  employed  day  and  night  in  completing  the 
number  of  the  diamond  tags ;  and  it  was  still  in  full  force 
when  a  light  fishing-smack,  which  had  been  exempted  from 
the  general  disability,  was  scudding  across  the  channel  on 
its  way  to  Calais,  under  the  command  of  one  of  the  duke's 
confidential  servants,  and  having  on  board,  for  all  its  freight, 
the  aiguillette  of  Anne  of  Austria. 

In  the  course  of  the  ensuing  day  the  ports  were  again 
opened,  and  the  thousand  and  one  rumors  which  had  been 
propagated  by  the  people  died  gradually  away,  as  no  ex- 
planation of  the  incomprehensible  and  rigorous  measure 
ever  transpired ;  whose  result  was  the  receipt  of  her 
shoulder-knot  by  the  queen,  the  very  day  before  the  ball 
of  the  magistrates. 

Thus  the  apparent  tranquillity  of  Anne  of  Austria,  which 
had  been  for  the  first  few  hours  the  apathetic  calmness  of 
despair,  ultimately  grew  out  of  the  certainty  of  security ; 


52  LOUIS     XIV.     A  N  D 

and  the  ready  wit  and  chivalric  devotion  of  Buckingham, 
which  had  so  frequently  threatened  her  destruction,  for 
once  supplied  her  aegis. 

Her  trials  were,  however,  far  from  their  conclusion ;  for 
although  the  king,  reassured  by  the  departure  of  the  En- 
glish duke,  and  this  failure  of  the  accusation  of  the  aiguil- 
lette,  for  which  he  could  not  in  any  way  account,  did  not 
permit  the  memory  of  Buckingham  longer  to  occupy  his 
mind,  Marie  de  Medicis  renewed  her  efforts  to  disgust  him 
with  his  young  wife,  lest  a  reconciliation  between  them 
should  decrease  her  influence.  Louis  XIII.,  although  he 
had,  for  a  time,  ceased  to  look  upon  his  brother  with  the 
same  suspicion  as  formerly  (the  episode  of  the  British 
envoy  having  of  late  entirely  occupied  his  attention),  had 
by  no  means  overcome  his  old  misgivings  ;  and  upon  this 
foundation  the  Queen-Mother  wrought.  She  again  flung 
the  vain  young  prince  constantly  into  the  way  of  her  in- 
tended victim  ;  who,  wearied  by  the  monotony  in  which 
6he  lived,  was  indebted  to  his  sallies  for  some  of  her  least 
dreary  hours  ;  and  having  accomplished  a  renewal  of  their 
familiar  intercourse,  both  herself  and  Richelieu,  united  by 
one  common  interest,  skillfully  reawakened  the  slumbering 
jealousy  of  the  king,  and  caused  reports  to  be  circulated 
on  every  side,  which  were  calculated  to  ruin  the  queen  for- 
ever in  his  opinion.  Among  others,  it  was  officiously  com- 
municated to  him  that  Anne  of  Austria,  weary  of  a  life  of 
ennui — young,  beautiful,  and  passionate — was  anxiously 
awaiting  the  death  of  a  cold  and  melancholy  husband, 
whose  failing  health  appeared  to  give  consistency  to  her 
hopes,  in  order  to  complete  a  marriage  more  in  accordance 
with  her  peculiar  tastes  ;  and  thenceforward  Louis  XIII. 
believed  himself  to  be  surrounded  by  conspirators,  eager 
to  place  the  crown  upon  the  head  of  the  Duke  d'Anjou. 
Marie  de  Medicis  covertly  encouraged  his  suspicions ;  and 
the  king,  whose  distrust  of  his  wife  increased  with  every 
succeeding   day,   brooded    impatiently   over    his    imagined 


THE     COURT     OR     FRANCE.  53 

wrongs,  while  be  awaited  the  opportunity  to  revenge  them 
signally.  That  opportunity  was  not  long  wanting ;  and 
here  again  history  supplies  us  with  an  episode  which  con- 
tains almost  a  romance  in  itself. 

Henry  de  Talleyrand,  Prince  de  Chalais,  of  a  junior 
branch  of  the  illustrious  house  of  Talleyrand,  was  master 
of  the  wardrobe  to  the  king*  He  was  young,  handsome, 
and  high-spirited  ;  remarkable  for  the  extreme  elegance  of 
his  attire ;  and  very  popular  with  the  ladies  of  the  court. 
Thoughtless,  sarcastic,  and  vain,  he  made  many  enemies  ; 
but,  thanks  to  a  duel  in  which  he  had  been  engaged  some 
time  previously,  and  which  had  created  great  excitement, 
his  position  in  society  was  assured  and  brilliant ;  for  the 
spirit  of  chivalry  was  not  yet  extinct  in  France  ;  and  this, 
its  last  and  worst  observance,  still  turned  the  heads  of  all 
the  young  and  idle  cavaliers  about  the  court.  His  antago- 
nist was  M.  de  Pongibaut,  brother-in-law  of  the  Count  de 
Lude,t  by  whom  he  believed  himself  to  have  been  injured. 

*  "  lie  was  the  grandson  of  the  Marshal  de  Montluc,  and  connected 
on  the  female  side  with  the  family  of  the  brave  Bussy  d'Amboise,  whose 
sister  was  the  wife  of  that  marshal." — Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 

t  Bussy-Rabutin,  Grand  Master  of  the  Artillery,  in  his  malicious 
sketch  of  Madame  de  Sevigne,  inserted  in  the  most  scandalous  and  the 
most  popular  of  his  works,  draws  the  following  picture  of  the  Count  de 
Lude : — "  His  face  is  small  and  ugly  ;  he  has  a  profusion  of  hair,  and  a 
fine  figure ;  he  was  born  to  be  very  fat,  but  the  dread  of  being  incon- 
venienced and  disagreeable  has  caused  him  to  take  such  extraordinary 
pains  to  keep  down  his  flesh,  that  he  has  ultimately  succeeded.  His 
fine  figure  has  in  truth  cost  him  a  portion  of  his  good  health,  for  he  has 
ruined  his  stomach  by  spare  and  rigid  diet,  and  the  quantity  of  vinegar 
which  he  has  taken.  He  is  a  clever  horseman,  dances  well,  is  a  good 
fencer,  and  fought  bravely.  Those  who  doubted  his  courage  conse- 
quently did  him  injustice.  The  foundation  of  this  calumny  may  be 
traced  to  the  fact,  that  all  the  young  men  of  his  standing  having  shared 
in  the  campaign,  he  contented  himself  by  serving  as  a  volunteer;  but 
this  circumstance  arose  from  his  idleness  and  love  of  pleasure.  In  one 
word,  he  is  brave,  and  has  no  ambition.  His  disposition  is  mild;  he  is 
agreeable  in  female  society,  has  always  been  well  treated  by  the  ladies, 
but  has  never  loved  any  one  long.     The  causes  of  his  success,  beside 


54  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

He  accordingly  took  his  post  upon  the  Pont-Neuf,  and  there 
awaited  his  enemy,  who  had  no  sooner  appeared  than  he 
drew  his  sword,  defied  him  to  instant  combat,  and  killed 
him.     Bois-Robert  wrote  an  elegy  upon  his  death.* 

It  was  the  fashion  of  that  day  to  conspire  against  the 
cardinal,  who  had  monopolized  the  sovereign  power,  and 
reduced  the  authority  of  the  king  to  a  mere  cipher  ;  and 
Chalais,  who  loved  nothing  so  well  as  the  fashion,  es- 
pecially when  its  worship  involved  a  certain  degree  of 
danger,  was  therefore  delighted  to  follow  a  mode  so  con- 
genial to  his  tastes. 

On  this  occasion,  however,  the  conspiracy  was  far  from 
contemptible,  for  at  its  head  was  the  young  Duke  d'Anjou ; 
excited  to  this  demonstration  of  hostility,  not  only  by  the 
hatred  which  he  personally  felt  for  Richelieu,  but  also  by 
the  instigations  of  Alexander  de  Bourbon,  Grand  Prior  of 
France,!  and  Caesar,  Duke  de  Vendome,|  who  had  origi- 
nally suggested  the  assassination  of  the  cardinal,  and  in- 
duced the  cooperation  of  Chalais.  Half-a-dozen  other 
young  men  of  rank  joined  the  party  of  Gaston,  and  to 
these  (including  the  prince  himself,  and  Chalais)  was  to  be 
intrusted  the  murder  of  the  minister. 

Richelieu,  who  was  by  no  means  blind  to  the  hatred 

his  reputation  for  discretion,  are  his  good  looks,  and,  above  all,  his  fac- 
ulty of  weeping  when  he  pleases  ;  for  nothing  so  persuades  women  that 
they  are  loved  as  tears." — Histoire  Amourev.se  des  Gaules. 

*  Francois  le  Metel  de  Bois-Robert,  born  at  Caen  in  1592.  A  poet 
and  a  wit,  he  became  the  favorite  of  Richelieu,  although  he  was  a 
gambler,  a  glutton,  and  a  rake.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
French  Academy,  whose  sittings  were  long  held  under  his  roof;  and 
died  in  1662.     Bois-Robert  left  behind  him  poems,  tales,  and  dramas. 

t  Son  of  Henry  IV.  and  of  Gabrielle  d'Estree.  He  married  the 
daughter  of  Philip-Emanuel  de  Lorraine,  Duke  de  Mercoeur,  by  whom 
he  had  three  children — Isabella,  married  to  Charles  Amedee,  Duke  de 
Nemours;  Louis,  who  died  in  1669;  and  Francis,  Duke  of  Beaufort. 

%  Philip  de  Venddme,  brother  of  Caesar,  born  in  1655,  followed  the 
profession  of  arms.  In  his  person  tenninated  the  posterity  of  the  dukes 
de  Venddme,  descendants  of  Henry  IV. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  55 

with  which  he  was  regarded  by  a  great  proportion  of  the 
nation,  and  by  a  strong  party  at  court,  was  in  the  habit  of 
perpetually  pretexting  his  weak  health,  in  order  to  with- 
draw from  Paris.  He  was  shrewd  enough  to  comprehend 
that,  for  an  unpopular  minister,  the  walls  of  a  palace  afford 
very  inefficient  protection  ;  while  in  a  more  retired  and  less 
official  residence,  precautions  might  be  taken  with  a  greater 
probability  of  success.  Thus  he  had  once  more  retired  to 
the  Benedictine  abbey  of  Fleury,*  where  he  busied  himself 
in  forwarding  the  affairs  of  state,  and  whence  he  directed 
the  destinies  of  the  kingdom. 

The  Duke  d'Anjou  and  his  friends,  pretexting  that  a 
hunt  had  brought  them  into  the  neighborhood,  were  to  pay 
a  visit  to  the  cardinal,  to  claim  his  hospitality,  and  after- 
ward to  seize  the  first  favorable  moment  to  surround  him, 
and  put  him  to  death.t 

All  was  prepared ;  when  Chalais,  either  irresolute,  and 
desirous  of  further  arguments  against  his  own  reluctance, 
in  doubt  of  the  legitimacy  of  the  act  in  contemplation,  or 
anxious  to  include   his  friend  in   the  plot,  confided  every 

*  Fleury,  or  Saint-Benoit-sur-Loire,  an  abbey  of  Benedictines,  was 
situated  in  the  little  town  of  Fleury,  near  Orleans.  It  was  founded  in 
the  seventh  century,  by  Leodobold,  abbot  of  Saint-Aignan,  and  only 
assumed  the  name  of  Saint-Benoit  when  the  relics  of  that  saint  were 
transferred  to  its  guardianship.  It  was  an  educational  community,  and 
both  divine  and  human  sciences  were  taught  there.  The  number  of 
pupils  amounted  to  five  thousand.  It  possessed  a  very  fine  library, 
containing  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  to  two  hundred  thou- 
sand volumes.  The  abbey  of  Fleury  was  united  to  the  congregation 
of  Saint-Maur  in  1627. 

t  "  All  these  plots,  which  to-day  appear  to  us  so  impossible,  at  least 
so  extraordinary,  were  quite  common  at  that  time,  and  made,  in  some 
degree,  the  tour  of  Europe.  Visconti  had  been  assassinated  thus  in  the 
Ddme  at  Milan ;  Julian  de  Medicis  in  the  cathedral  at  Florence ;  Henry 
III.  at  Saint-Germain;  Henry  IV.  in  the  Rue  de  la  Ferronerie;  and 
the  Marshal  d'Ancre  on  the  bridge  of  the  Louvre.  Gaston,  in  ridding 
himself  of  the  favorite  of  Louis  XIII.,  was  consequently  imitating  the 
example  of  Louis  XIII.  with  regard  to  the  favorite  of  Marie  de  Med- 
icis."— Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


56  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

detail  to  the  Commander  Valance.  The  second  supposi- 
tion appears  to  be  warranted  by  the  result ;  for  it  is  certain 
that,  at  the  conclusion  of  their  conference,  De  Valance  had 
obtained  sufficient  influence  over  the  mind  and  conscience 
of  Chalais  to  induce  him  to  see  Richelieu,  and  to  reveal 
the  whole  conspiracy. 

The  cardinal  was  writing  in  his  closet,  in  company  with 
one  of  his  most  devoted  adherents,  the  Count  de  Rochefort 
— a  protean  genius,  who  was  incessantly  at  work  in  the 
interests  of  his  patron,  under  all  ages,  names,  figures,  and 
costumes.  He  was  long-headed  and  courageous ;  and  was, 
in  one  shape  or  other,  involved  in  every  state  mystery  ; 
consequently,  it  is  almost  needless  to  add,  that  he  was 
one  of  the  most  favored  and  confidential  agents  of  the 
minister.  When  Chalais  and  De  Valance  were  announced 
on  an  affair  of  extreme  importance,  His  Eminence  made  a 
sign  to  Rochefort,  who  retired  behind  a  screen  of  tapestry 
that  separated  the  chamber  of  the  cardinal  from  the  cabinet 
in  which  he  was  working ;  and  the  visitors  were  admitted 
as  he  disappeared. 

Chalais  was  more  dead  than  alive.  He  felt  all  the 
odium  of  his  position ;  and  his  vain  and  haughty  spirit  was 
probably  more  stung  by  a  consciousness  of  his  personal 
disgrace,  than  his  moral  feelings  were  wounded  by  the 
enormity  of  his  projected  crime.  In  his  first  error  there 
had  been  some  shadow  of  courage  ;  for,  assassination  as  it 
was,  the  game  which  he  had  been  about  to  play,  if  unsuc- 
cessful, involved  his  certain  destruction  ;  while  that  which 
he  was  about  to  commit,  while  it  tended  to  insure  his  own 
security,  periled  that  of  those  who  had  confided  in  his 
honor.  As  his  eyes  fell  upon  the  cardinal,  who,  cold  and 
pale  and  stern,  was  seated  at  the  table,  with  his  hand  sup- 
porting his  chin,  and  his  glance  occasionally  wandering 
over  the  mass  of  papers  heaped  before  him,  he  could  not 
utter  a  syllable.  It  was  accordingly  De  Valance  who  un- 
dertook to  lay  before  Richelieu  all  the  details  of  the  con- 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  57 

spiracy  which  had  been  formed  against  him.  The  counte- 
nance of  the  minister  remained  unmoved  as  he  listened  in 
silent  attention  to  the  narrative.  No  expression  of  either 
astonishment  or  indignation  escaped  him.  He  possessed 
in  an  eminent  degree  that  passive  courage  which  is  the 
firmest  defense  of  statesmen.  No  mask  of  wax  could  have 
continued  more  immobile ;  and,  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
interview,  there  was  almost  a  smile  upon  his  lips  as  he 
thanked  Chalais  for  his  zeal,  and  begged  him  to  return  and 
visit  him  alone. 

He  was  obeyed,  and  spared  neither  promises  nor  pledges 
to  attach  the  young  courtier  to  his  interests.  He  flattered 
his  self-love,  and  excited  his  ambition ;  while  Chalais,  con- 
scious that  he  no  longer  merited  the  confidence  and  regard 
of  his  former  friends,  suffered  himself  to  be  seduced,  upon 
the  understanding  that  no  steps  should  be  taken  by  the 
minister  against  any  of  his  late  confederates.  Richelieu 
conceded  the  point  at  once,*  and  then  proceeded  to  inform 
the  king  of  his  discovery ;  demanding,  in  his  turn,  impunity 
for  a  conspiracy  formed  only  against  himself,  and  affecting 
in  no  degree  the  safety  of  his  royal  master.  This  was  an 
able  stroke  of  policy,  for  it  permitted  the  minister  to  display 
less  lenity,  should  he  ever  detect  any  of  its  members  en- 
gaged in  a  plot  likely  to  compromise  Louis ;  while  it  im- 
pressed the  mind  of  the  king  with  the  conviction,  that  the 
cardinal  was  more  devoted  to  his  individual  interests  than 
even  to  those  which  involved  his  own  welfare.  Moreover, 
it  enabled  Richelieu  to  accomplish  a  point  which  he  had 
long  desired;  for  when  Louis,  after  having  given  the  de- 
sired pledge,  inquired  in  what  manner  the  minister  intended 
to  act  in  this  conjuncture,  he  replied,  that  he  had  already 
resolved  upon  his  mode  of  action,  but  that  having  in  his 

*  "  This  was  the  more  easy  to  him,  as  the  heads  of  the  Duke  d'Anjou, 
the  Duke  de  Vend6me,  and  the  Grand  Prior,  being  all  royal,  they  were 
not  such  as  habitually  fell  under  the  ax  of  the  executioner." — Louis 
XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 

«■* 


58  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

service  neither  guards  nor  armed  men,  he  would  ask  the 
king  to  lend  him  a  detachment  of  his  gens  d'armes.  Louis 
immediately  authorized  him  to  take  sixty  cavaliers ;  who 
arrived  at  Fleury  in  the  night  preceding  the  day  fixed 
upon  for  the  assassination,  where  they  were  at  once  con- 
cealed. 

At  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  officers  of  the  kitchen 
to  the  Duke  d'Anjou  arrived  at  Fleury  in  their  turn  ;  stating 
that  at  the  termination  of  the  hunt  their  royal  master  would 
come  to  claim  the  hospitality  of  His  Eminence ;  and  that, 
in  order  to  obviate  all  inconvenience,  he  had  sent  them 
forward  to  prepare  the  dinner.  In  reply,  the  cardinal 
informed  them  that  both  he  and  his  chateau  were  entirely 
at  the  disposal  of  the  prince,  who  had  only  to  command 
whatever  he  might  desire ;  and  after  this  assurance,  he  im- 
mediately rose,  dressed  himself,  and  without  apprising  any 
one  of  his  intention,  he  at  once  started  for  Fontainebleau 
to  wait  upon  Gaston.  It  was  eight  o'clock  when  he  ar- 
rived there ;  and  the  duke  was  already  putting  on  a  hunt- 
ing-dress when  the  door  of  his  room  abruptly  opened,  and 
a  valet  de  chambre  announced  His  Eminence  the  Cardinal 
de  Richelieu.  It  is  probable  that  Gaston  would,  at  any 
risk,  have  evaded  this  interview  had  it  been  possible,  for, 
as  his  after-career  amply  proved,  his  courage  was  apt  to 
fail  in  the  face  of  danger,  although  at  times  he  was  capable 
of  the  most  magnificent  projects.  He  had  also,  upon  this 
occasion,  the  consciousness  of  a  projected  crime  to  augment 
his  repugnance  as  well  as  the  natural  distrust  of  discovery  ; 
which,  in  a  secret  already  confided  to  so  many  individuals, 
could  terminate  only  with  the  accomplishment  of  his  pur- 
pose. There  was,  however,  no  possibility  of  retreat  in  the 
present  instance,  for  the  cardinal  had  followed  closely  upon 
the  heels  of  his  conductor;  and  when  the  prince  turned 
toward  the  door  to  announce  that  he  was  not  visible,  his 
eyes  met  those  of  his  unwelcome  guest. 

The  bland  smile  of  Richelieu  contrasted  strangely  with 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  69 

the  agitation  of  the  royal  duke,  who  could  scarcely  com- 
mand sufficient  self-possession  to  utter  a  confused  and 
hurried  greeting;  and  his  emotion  sufficed  to  convince  the 
cardinal  of  the  truth  of  all  that  he  had  heard.  Neverthe- 
less he  advanced  into  the  room  with  a  calm  and  dignified 
composure,  well  calculated  to  dispel  the  ready  apprehen- 
sions of  Gaston ;  who,  gaining  courage  from  desperation, 
was  about  to  approach  him,  when  the  minister,  with  the 
same  suavity  in  his  voice  which  he  had  already  exhibited 
in  his  features,  declared  that  he  had  great  cause  of  com- 
plaint against  his  royal  highness.  This  assurance  tended 
to  renew  all  the  terrors  of  the  Duke  d'Anjou,  who  inquired, 
in  an  unsteady  accent,  in  what  manner  he  could  have  in- 
curred the  displeasure  of  His  Eminence  ] 

The  cardinal  explained  with  increased  courtesy,  that  he 
alluded  to  the  circumstance,  that  when  the  prince  had 
determined  to  honor  him  by  his  presence,  and  to  dine 
under  his  roof,  and  that  it  would  have  afforded  him  the 
most  heartfelt  gratification  to  entertain  so  distinguished  a 
guest  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  he  should  have  sent  forward 
his  establishment  to  prepare  his  repast ;  and  the  rather 
that  he  could  only  interpret  this  arrangement  as  conveying 
an  inference  that  his  royal  highness  desired  to  be  relieved 
from  all  intrusion ;  and  thus,  in  order  that  his  pleasure 
should  be  fulfilled  in  all  things,  he  now  hastened  to  assure 
him  that  he  had  quitted  the  chateau  in  order  that  it  might 
remain  at  the  complete  disposal  of  the  prince  and  his 
friends,  so  long  as  he  should  honor  him  by  making  it  avail- 
able :  and  having  terminated  his  address,  the  cardinal 
withdrew,  wishing  the  duke  a  good  day's  sport. 

Gaston  was  too  wily  to  be  duped  by  this  excess  of 
courtesy,  and  felt  at  once  that  he  had  been  betrayed.  He, 
consequently,  feigned  sudden  indisposition,  and  the  hunt 
was  abandoned.  He  could  not  conceal  from  himself  that 
Richelieu,  already  predisposed  against  him,  would  hence- 
forward continue  his  implacable  enemy ;  and  he  well  knew 


60   LOUIS  XIV.  AND  THE  COURT  OF  FRANCE. 

the  power  of  the  cardinal  over  the  mind  of  the  king,  who 
had  by  this  time  become  the  mere  tool  of  his  imperious 
will.  He  was  not  deceived  in  his  conjectures;  for  the 
minister,  although  he  had  displayed  so  much  apparent 
magnanimity,  was  far  from  feeling  the  forbearance  which 
he  professed.  He  was  aware  of  the  whole  extent  of  the 
danger  by  which  he  was  menaced,  and  he  felt  that  he  was 
lost  if  he  did  not  succeed  in  overthrowing  at  once  the  for- 
midable league  which  the  princes  had  formed  against  him. 
There  might  not  always  be  a  coward  or  a  traitor  in  the 
ranks ;  and  he  had  now  acquired  the  bitter  experience 
that  his  agents,  numerous  and  active  as  they  were,  could 
not  in  every  case  protect  him  against  the  machinations  of 
his  enemies,  by  a  premature  discovery  of  their  plots.  His 
first  care  must  therefore  be  to  divide  their  interests ;  and 
that  done,  he  felt  no  apprehension  that  he  should  be 
enabled  to  subjugate  them  individually. 


CHAPTER  III. 


Question  of  the  Duke  d'Anjou's  Marriage — Foresight  of  Gaston — Marie 
de  Bourbon — Opposition — The  Vendome  Princes — The  Grand  Prior 
— Alarm  of  Louis  XIII. — The  Cardinal  and  the  Grand  Prior — Insid- 
ious Advice — Departure  of  the  Grand  Prior  for  Brittany — Dissimula- 
tion of  Louis  XIII.  —  Repentance  of  Chalais — Affected  Alarm  of 
Richelieu — The  Forty  Mounted  Guards — Triumph  of  the  Cardinal — 
Arrest  of  the  Vendome  Princes  at  Blois — The  Count  de  Rochefort — 
The  Capuchin  Monastery  at  Brussels — The  Plot  at  its  Climax — Ar- 
rest, Trial,  and  Confession  of  Chalais — Marriage  of  the  Duke  d'Anjou 
— Madame  de  Chalais — Condemnation  of  her  Son — Execution  of 
Chalais — The  Queen  before  the  Council. 

.  At  this  period  the  question  became  mooted  of  the  mar- 
riage of  the  Duke  d'Anjou,  who  received  the  proposition 
coldly,  for  his  views  in  forming  an  alliance  of  this  nature 
were  by  no  means  in  accordance  with  those  of  the  minis- 
ter. He  never  for  a  moment  lost  sight  of  the  possibility 
which  existed,  that  he  might  one  dav  inherit  the  throne  of 


62  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

France ;  and  he  was  anxious  .to  unite  himself  to  a  foreign 
princess,  whose  family  might  serve  him  as  a  support  in  his 
time  of  power,  and  whose  country  might  afford  a  refuge  in 
the  event  of  adversity.  It  is  certain  that  these  were  by  no 
means  the  views  of  Richelieu ;  who  desired  that  Gaston 
should  marry  Mademoiselle  de  Bourbon,*  who  would  bring 
him  an  immense  dowry,  but  who  could  not  assist  him  in 
his  ambitious  projects.  Still  the  cardinal  urged  upon  the 
king  the  propriety,  and  in  fact,  necessity,  of  the  alliance  ; 
which  he  based  upon  the  continued,  and  now,  as  he  ex- 
pressed it,  hopeless  childlessness  of  Anne  of  Austria ;  an 
argument  which  renewed  all  the  bitterness  of  Louis  toward 
his  queen.  Nor  was  he  slow  in  representing  to  the  king 
the  dangers  which  must  ensue  from  providing  for  his 
brother,  in  another  country,  a  haven  whence  he  might  defy 
his  authority  ;  and  Louis  XIII. ,  although  he  had  suffered 
all  power  to  be  wrested  from  him  by  one  of  his  own  sub- 
jects, was  morbidly  alive  to  the  dread  of  appearing  to  have 
ceded  his  prerogative,  and  to  the  risk  of  being  compelled 
to  do  so.  The  substance  had  escaped  him,  but  he  only 
grasped  the  more  tenaciously  at  the  shadow.  The  queen 
still  clung  to  the  interests  of  Spain,  and  this  consciousness 
gave  him  continual  uneasiness ;  a  fact  well  known  to  the 
cardinal,  and  of  which  he  dextrously  availed  himself  to 
work  upon  the  fears  of  Louis,  while  at  the  same  time  he 
widened  the  breach  between  the  weak  monarch  and  Anne 
of  Austria. 

On  the  other  hand,  Gaston,  too  unstable  to  resist  the 
will  of  the  minister,  without  support,  summoned  his  friends 
about  him,  and  created  a  party,  which  declared  itself  in 
favor  of  the  foreign  alliance,  at  whose  head  were  Anne  of 
Austria,  the  Grand  Prior  of  France,  and  the  Duke  de 
Vendome. 

Richelieu  soon  acquainted  Louis  that  these  two  princes 

*  Marie  de  Bourbon,  daughter  of  Francis  de  Bourbon,  Duke  de 
Montpensier,  &c,  &c. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  63 

had  resolved  to  prevent  the  alliance  with  Mademoiselle 
de  Bourbon,  and  the  king  evinced  great  irritation  at  the 
intelligence,  although,  with  the  dissimulation  which  was 
natural  to  him,  he  did  not  permit  it  to  appear  in  their 
presence.  Before  the  cardinal,  however,  he  affected  no 
disguise,  and  the  subtile  minister  understood,  at  once,  that 
he  had  awakened  a  hatred  of  his  brother  in  the  heart  of 
the  king  which  would  be  unextinguishable.  His  greatest 
difficulty  was,  how  to  profit  by  this  consciousness.  The 
position  of  the  Grand  Prior  was  one  of  great  influence 
and  power — without  calculating  upon  the  traditional  pres- 
tige which  attached  itself  to  him  as  the  son  of  Henry 
IV.;  while  that  of  the  Duke  de  Vendome  was  still  more 
formidable,  inasmuch  as  he  was  not  only  the  governor  of 
Brittany,  but  might  even  pretend  to  the  sovereignty  of 
that  province,  in  right  of  his  wife,  the  heiress  of  the  joint 
houses  of  Luxembourg  and  Penthievre.  It  was  rumored, 
moreover,  that  the  prince  was  about  to  effect  a  marriage 
between  his  son  and  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  Duke  de 
Retz,  who  held  two  strong  places  in  the  province,  and, 
consequently,  Brittany,  which  it  had  been  so  difficult  to 
attach  to  the  crown,  might  again  emancipate  itself.  The 
cardinal  placed  all  these  considerations  under  the  eyes  of 
the  king.  He  showed  him  Spain  entering  France  at  the 
bidding  of  Anne  of  Austria,  the  German  Empire  marching 
upon  the  frontiers,  on  the  invitation  of  the  Duke  d'Anjou, 
and  Brittany  in  revolt  at  the  first  signal  of  the  Duke  de 
Vendome.*  And  when  Louis,  alarmed  by  the  possible 
perspective  thus  laid  bare  before  him,  eagerly  inquired 
how  such  calamities  were  to  be  evaded,  he  was  answered 
that  the  only  remedy  lay  in  the  imprisonment  of  the  two 
brothers. 

There  was,   however,  little   hope   of  arresting  both   at 
the  same  time,  and  the  minister  well  knew,  that  should 
he    secure   the   person   of  one    only,  he   must  inevitably 
*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


G4  LOUI3     XIV.     AND 

create  for  himself  an  enemy  whose  power  might  ulti- 
mately overcome  his  own  ;  but  fortune  was  on  the  side 
of  Richelieu.  The  princes,  after  the  failure  of  the  con- 
spiracy of  Fleury,  had  watched  anxiously  for  some  word 
or  action  which  might  betray  a  knowledge  of  their  par- 
ticipation in  the  plot,  on  the  part  of  those  who  were  the 
most  interested  in  its  result,  and  finding  that  no  allusion 
had  been  made  to  themselves  calculated  to  excite  sus- 
picion, and  that  the  power  of  Richelieu  continued  to 
increase,  the  Duke  de  Vendome  returned  to  his  govern- 
ment, perfectly  assured  that  the  cardinal,  although  apprised 
of  the  danger  to  which  he  had  been  exposed,  was  ignorant 
of  the  identity  of  those  who  had  paiticipated  in  the  plot ; 
while  the  Grand  Prior,  strong  in  the  same  conviction, 
renewed  his  relations  with  the  minister  with  greater  ap- 
parent eagerness  than  he  had  ever  before  displayed. 
Richelieu  met  his  advances  in  the  same  spirit ;  and  so 
thoroughly  was  the  prince  duped  by  the  seeming  sincerity 
of  the  wily  minister,  that  in  a  moment  of  overweening 
trust,  he  requested  him  to  demand  for  him  from  the  king 
the  command  of  the  naval  forces. 

The  cardinal  assured  him,  that  should  he  not  obtain 
it,  the  fact  would  arise  from  no  opposition  on  his  part ; 
and  after  many  cajoleries,  all  uttered  with  so  perfect  an 
appearance  of  sincerity  and  good  faith,  that  the  Grand 
Prior  (aware,  as  he  had  every  reason  to  be,  of  the  hos- 
tility of  the  cardinal  toward  him  and  his)  was  unguarded 
enough  to  be  deluded  by  the  idea  that  the  danger  from 
which  he  had  lately  escaped,  as  if  by  the  direct  inter- 
position of  Providence,  had  shown  Richelieu  the  necessity 
of  securing  the  friendship  and  support  of  those  whom  he 
had  hitherto  defied.  This  mental  sophistry  consequently 
seated  him  on  velvet  with  the  minister,  who  had  little 
difficulty  in  persuading  him  that  the  only  obstacle  likely 
to  arise  on  the  subject  of  his  present  request,  would  exist 
in  the  fact,  that  his  brother  had  given  great  umbrage  to 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  65 

the  king,  by  listening  to  the  advice  of  persons  inimical 
to  his  majesty,  and  that  it  was  requisite  he  should  first 
remove  this  impression,  before  he  ventured  to  solicit  any 
favor  for  himself. 

Believing  that  if  this  were  the  sole  impediment  to  his 
success,  it  was  one  which  might  be  easily  overcome,  his 
immediate  reply  was  an  inquiry,  if  the  cardinal  would 
advise  him  to  induce  his  brother  to  appear  at  court,  in 
order  to  justify  himself  from  these  suspicions  ;  to  which 
Richelieu,  seeing  his  earnest  desire  likely  to  be  accom- 
plished by  this  measure,  answered  in  the  affirmative,  as- 
serting that  nothing  could  be  more  judicious  than  such 
a  proceeding.  Nevertheless,  the  Grand  Prior,  jealous 
lest  the  duke  should  incur  any  risk  by  leaving  his  gov- 
ernment, and  placing  himself  within  the  grasp  of  his 
enemies,  upon  his  own  account,  desired  to  know  if  his 
brother  would  be  guarantied  from  all  danger,  should  he 
accede  to  his  desire  ;  to  which  inquiry  the  minister  re- 
plied, once  more,  by  remarking  that  every  thing  appeared 
propitious  to  his  wishes  ;  for  that  as  the  king  was  about 
to  pass  some  time  at  Blois,  in  relaxation  and  amusement, 
he  had  only  to  start  at  once  to  Brittany,  and  explain  the 
state  of  affairs  to  the  duke,  who,  by  meeting  the  court  at 
that  place,  would  be  spared  half  the  fatigue  of  the  journey 
from  his  government,  while,  as  regarded  the  required 
guaranty,  it  was  for  the  king  to  offer  it,  who,  most  as- 
suredly, would  not  refuse  to  do  so. 

It  was  then  arranged  that  the  Grand  Prior  should  await, 
at  his  own  hotel,  the  permission  of  an  audience,  after 
which  he  should  forthwith  start  for  Brittany.  Nothing 
could  be  more  amicable  than  the  parting  between  Riche- 
lieu and  his  visitor,  who  left  him,  delighted  with  the 
change  which  had  taken  place  in  his  feelings  and  man- 
ner, and  in  the  belief  that  he  should,  ere  long,  become 
High  Admiral  of  France. 

Nor  was  he  less  gratified  when  he  waited  upon   the 


66  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

king,  who  received  him  with  a  gayety  and  familiarity 
which  he  did  not  commonly  exhibit,  talked  to  him  of 
the  pleasure  which  he  anticipated  at  Blois,  and  invited 
himself  and  his  brother  to  the  hunts  at  Chambord.*  The 
Grand  Prior  ventured  to  remind  his  majesty,  that  as  the 
duke  was  aware  that  the  royal  anger  had  been  excited 
against  him,  he  would  probably  have  some  hesitation  in 
leaving  his  government.  The  reply  of  Louis  XIII.  was 
worthy  of  his  wily  nature  :  "  Let  him  come,"  he  said, 
"  let  him  come  in  all  security  ;  I  give  him  my  royal  word 
that  he  shall  not  be  worse  used  than  yourself." 

The  Grand  Prior  asked  no  more,  and,  having  taken  a 

*  Chambord,  a  small  town  in  the  department  of  the  Loir-et-Cher,  is 
remarkable  for  a  celebrated  chateau,  situated  on  the  Cosson,  at  the 
distance  of  a  league  from  the  left  bank  of  the  Loire,  and  four  leagues 
from  the  city  of  Blois.  This  chateau  was  built  by  the  famous  Prima- 
tice,*  during  the  reign  of  Francis  I.,  on  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  castle, 
which  had  belonged  to  the  counts  of  Blois.  Its  architecture  is  in  the 
6tyle  of  the  renaissance;  the  principal  turret  is  of  quadrangular  form, 
and  is  flanked  by  four  huge  towers,  and  surrounded  by  a  rectangular 
building,  one  of  whose  fronts  is  on  a  line  with  the  turret,  and  of  semi- 
gothic  architecture.  The  chateau  stands  in  the  midst  of  a  park  of 
twelve  thousand  (French)  acres,  which  is  surrounded  by  a  wall,  and 
of  great  beauty.  Francis  I.  made  this  his  favorite  residence.  Louis 
XV.  presented  it  to  Marshal  Saxe.  Louis  XVI.  gave  it,  in  1777,  to 
the  Polignac  family.  In  1804,  it  was  given  as  an  endowment  to  the 
Legion  of  Honor;  it  was  afterward  constituted  the  principality  of 
Wagram,  in  favor  of  Marshal  Berthier,  whose  widow  sold  it,  in  1820, 
in  order  that  it  might  be  offered  to  the  Duke  of  Bourdeaux,  who  is  still 
its  owner. 


*  Francis  Primatice,  a  celebrated  Italian  painter,  born  at  Bologna  in  1490,  of  a 
noble  family.  He  was  the  pupil  of  Innocenzia  da  Immola,  and  of  either  Bagna  Ca- 
vallo  or  Ramenghi.  The  fine  casts  in  stucco  which  he  executed  in  the  chateau  of  T 
at  Mantua  inspired  a  high  idea  of  his  genius.  Francis  I.  invited  him  to  France  in 
1540,  gave  him  the  abbey  of  Saint-Martin  de  Troyes,  and  intrusted  him  to  complete, 
in  Italy,  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  busts  or  statues,  and  to  have  the  molds  of  them 
made.  These  statues,  cast  in  bronze,  were  placed  at  Fontainebleau,  where  the  cha- 
teau was  also  enriched  by  his  paintings.  Appointed  commissioner  of  the  crown  build- 
ings by  Henry  II.,  and  commissary-general  of  works  throughout  the  kingdom  by  Francis 
II.,  he  died,  covered  with  honors,  in  1570. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  67 

grateful  leave  of  the  monarch,  he  left  Paris  in  all  haste,  to 
join  his  brother  in  Brittany. 

So  far  the  scheme  of  Richelieu  had  worked  admirably ; 
but  he  was  by  no  means  unconscious  of  the  risk  which  he 
incurred  by  entering  the  lists  against  the  three  sons  of 
Henry  IV.,  and  he  therefore  deemed  it  expedient,  before 
he  accompanied  the  king  to  Blois,  to  ascertain,  without  the 
possibility  of  error,  the  actual  amount  of  power  which  he 
possessed  over  the  mind  of  Louis.  For  this  purpose  he 
addressed  a  letter  to  the  monarch,  wherein  he  asserted, 
although  in  terms  rather  of  condescension  than  of  sub- 
mission, that  in  serving  his  majesty  he  had  never  had  any 
other  aim  than  his  royal  glory,  and  the  benefit  of  the 
state ;  that,  nevertheless,  he  saw,  with  extreme  grief,  the 
court  torn  by  faction,  and  France  threatened  with  a  civil 
war,  upon  his  account ;  that  he  held  his  life  as  nothing, 
could  its  sacrifice  serve  his  majesty ;  but  that  the  continual 
danger  in  which  he  lived  of  being  assassinated  before  the 
eyes  of  his  sovereign,  was  a  fate  which  a  man  of  his  char- 
acter should  more  carefully  avoid  than  any  other;  while 
so  many  strangers  had  access  to  his  presence,  that  it  was 
easy  for  his  enemies  to  suborn  some  among  them  to  destroy 
him.  That  should  the  king  still,  nevertheless,  desire  his 
services,  he  was  ready  to  obey  his  will,  as  he  had  no  other 
interests  than  those  of  the  state ;  but  that  he  merely 
begged  him  to  consider  one  fact,  which  was,  that  his 
majesty  would  regret  to  see  one  of  his  faithful  servants 
perish  by  such  means,  and  with  so  little  honor,  while,  at 
the  same  time,  his  own  authority  would  appear  to  be 
treated  with  contempt.  For  this  reason  he  very  humbly 
requested  the  king  to  permit  him  to  retire ;  by  which  con- 
cession, the  disaffected,  disconcerted  in  their  views,  woidd 
henceforward  have  no  pretext  of  broil. 

He  also  wrote  in  similar  terms  to  the  Queen-Mother,  en- 
treating her  to  solicit  his  retirement  of  the  king  ;*  but  he 
*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


G8  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

well  knew  that  his  arguments  were  too  specious  to  lead  to 
such  a  result.  "With  admirable  diplomacy,  he  had  started 
by  threatening  Louis  with  a  civil  war,  the  greatest  and  most 
deplorable  evil  which  could  happen  either  to  himself  or  his 
kingdom ;  and  he  was  only  too  well  aware  that  he  had  so 
long  accustomed  the  monarch  to  rely  upon  extraneous  sup- 
port, and  had  so  unfitted  him  to  act  with  energy  and  deci- 
sion in  such  an  emergency,  that  he  had  few  misgivings  of 
the  result  of  his  proceeding. 

As  he  had  anticipated,  both  Louis  and  Marie  de  Medicis 
were  alarmed  at  his  design ;  and  the  king  so  far  permitted 
his  apprehension  to  overcome  his  dignity,  as  to  pay  a  visit 
to  the  crafty  minister  at  his  residence  at  Limours,  for  the 
purpose  of  entreating  him  not  to  abandon  his  post  at  the 
very  moment  when  his'  services  had  become  more  than  ever 
essential  both  to  his  sovereign  and  to  the  state.  He  promised 
him,  moreover,  if  he  would  continue  in  office,  the  most 
stringent  protection  against,  not  merely  his  other  enemies, 
but  also  against  the  Duke  d'Anjou  himself;  promising  to 
reveal  to  him,  without  any  reserve,  all  complaints  and  accu- 
sations which  might  be  made  against  him,  without  requiring 
any  justification  on  his  part ;  and  offering  him  a  guard  of 
forty  horsemen.  The  cardinal  was  now  at  the  climax  of 
his  ambition.  He  saw  the  king,  weak  and  powerless,  in 
his  hands — almost,  indeed,  at  his  feet ;  and  had  ascertained 
the  means  by  which  he  could,  in  every  contingency,  secure 
the  supremacy  of  his  own  power.  Wherefore,  after  some 
coqueting,  which  added  to  the  anxiety  of  Louis,  and 
strengthened  his  own  position,  Richelieu  suffered  himself 
to  be  overcome  by  the  entreaties  of  his  sovereign ;  and 
declining  with  affected  humility  the  armed  guard  which 
had  been  proffered  to  him,  for  reasons  which  require  no 
explanation,  he  ultimately  consented  still  to  incur  the  peril 
of  the  assassin's  steel,  and  the  enmity  of  the  Duke  d'An- 
jou. 

Delighted  by  his  success,  Louis  did  even  more  than  he 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  69 

had  promised;  for  a  few  days  afterward  Gaston  himself 
waited  upon  the  cardinal ;  while  even  the  Prince  de  Conde, 
whom  he  had  on  one  occasion  imprisoned  in  the  Bastille, 
where  he  had  remained  for  four  years,  sent  to  assure  him 
of  his  entire  devotion ;  and  the  minister  received  all  these 
demonstrations  with  the  calm  civility  of  an  individual  who 
had  ceased  to  interest  himself  in  worldly  greatness,  and  who 
was  prepared  to  find  that  the  sacrifice  of  his  life  must  follow 
that  of  his  liberty  of  action. 

This  comedy  played  out,  the  king  started  for  Blois,  hav- 
ing intrusted  the  government  of  Paris  to  the  Count  de  Sois- 
sons.*  At  Amiens  he  was  joined  by  the  Queen-Mother 
and  the  Duke  d'Anjou  ;  while  the  cardinal  had  already  pre- 
ceded him,  having,  according  to  his  usual  practice,  alledged 
his  weak  health  as  a  reason  for  declining  to  remain  at  Blois 
with  the  court,  and  taking  up  his  residence  at  Beauregard, 
a  pretty  villa  within  a  league  of  the  town.  The  next  arri- 
vals were  those  of  the  Duke  de  Vendome  and  the  Grand 
Prior,  and  nothing  could  be  more  encouraging  or  more  ur- 
bane than  their  welcome  by  Louis,  who  proposed  to  them 
to  accompany  him  on  the  morrow  to  a  hunt.  The  brothers, 
however,  excused  themselves,  alledging  as  an  excuse  the 
fatigue  from  which  they  suffered,  having  traveled  post  from 
Brittany.  The  reason  was  admitted  ;  and  the  king,  having 
embraced  them  both,  took  leave  of  them  for  the  night.  At 
four  o'clock  in  the  morning  they  were  on  their  way  to  the 
castle  of  Amboiset  as  prisoners,  having,  an  hour  previously, 
been  arrested  in  their  beds  ;  while  the  Duchess  de  Vendome 
received  at  the  same  time  an  order  to  retire  to  her  residence 

*  Louis  de  Bourbon,  Count  de  Soissons,  Grand  Master  of  France,  son 
of  Charles,  Count  de  Soissons,  was  bora  at  Paris  in  1604. 

t  This  castle,  which  was  very  ancient,  stands  at  the  extremity  of  the 
town,  and  is  built  upon  the  summit  of  a  rock.  It  is  remarkable  for  two 
enormous  towers,  having  each  a  spiral  stair-case,  so  constructed  in  the 
interior,  that  a  carriage  can  be  driven  to  the  top.  It  was  built  by  In- 
geldez,  the  first  lord  of  Amboise,  in  882,  but  was  finally  completed 
only  toward  1450. 


70  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

at  Anet.     The  king  had  not  broken  his  word  :  the  two 
brothers  shared  the  same  fate. 

The  bad  faith  of  the  cardinal  was  made  so  evident  by  this 
double  arrest,  that  Chalais,  who  had  been,  since  the  scene 
in  the  cabinet,  in  constant  communication  with  the  minister, 
and  had  informed  him  of  all  the  movements  of  Gaston,  im- 
mediately hastened  to  remind  him  of  his  promise  ;  when  the 
only  satisfaction  which  he  could  obtain,  was  an  assurance 
that  the  princes  had  not  been  imprisoned  for  their  partici- 
pation in  the  plot  of  Fleury,  but  for  their  opposition  to  the 
marriage  of  Monsieur  with  Mademoiselle  de  Bourbon. 
Chalais,  who  was  aware  that  the  Duke  d'Anjou  had  no  con- 
spiracy in  view  save  the  very  harmless  one  of  securing  a 
retreat  from  the  hatred  of  the  cardinal,  who  had  not  now  to 
learn  his  repugnance  to  an  alliance  from  which  it  did  not 
require  the  dissuasions  of  the  two  princes  to  decide  him, 
and  whom  Richelieu  had  affected,  during  their  conferences, 
rather  to  pity  than  to  blame,  received  this  answer  with  a 
just  appreciation  of  its  truth;  and,  indignant  at  the  dissim- 
ulation of  which  he  had  been  made  the  dupe,  and  his  asso- 
ciates the  victims,  he  wrote  to  the  cardinal  after  this  inter- 
view, to  inform  him  that  he  withdrew  forever  from  his 
service ;  and  as  a  proof  of  his  sincerity  he  again  attached 
himself  to  the  party  of  Gaston,  and  renewed  his  intimacy 
with  Madame  de  Chevreuse,  who  had  returned  to  France. 
Nor  was  Gaston  less  indignant  at  the  arrest  of  his  two  broth- 
ers ;  and,  beginning  to  have  apprehensions  for  his  own 
safety,  he  forthwith  commenced  a  serious  search  for  some 
refuge,  whence  he  might  dictate  his  own  conditions,  as  other 
princes  had  already  done,  who  had  been  menaced  with  the 
power  of  the  cardinal-duke.  Anxious  to  compensate  for 
the  past,  Chalais  offered  himself  as  a  negotiator  either  be- 
tween Monsieur  and  the  malcontents  among  the  nobility,  or 
with  any  foreign  princes  likely  to  lend  themselves  to  his 
views ;  and  in  furtherance  of  this  project  he  accordingly 
wrote  to  the  Marquis  de  la  Valette  who  held  Metz,  to  the 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  71 

Count  de  Soissons  who  held  Paris,  and  to  the  Marquis  de 
Laisques,  the  favorite  of  the  archduke,  at  Brussels. 

La  Valette  refused,  because  Mademoiselle  de  Bourbon 
was  his  near  relative  ;  and  that  he  had  no  inclination  to  pre- 
vent her  marriage  with  a  prince  of  the  blood  royal.  The 
Count  de  Soissons  sent  a  messenger  to  the  Duke  d'Anjou, 
to  offer  him  five  hundred  thousand  crowns,  eight  thousand 
infantry,  and  five  hundred  cavalry,  if  he  would  immediately 
join  him  in  Paris.*  The  result  of  the  appeal  to  Laisques 
will  presently  appear. 

While  this  negotiation  was  pending,  Louvigny,  a  cadet 
of  the  house  of  Grammont,  requested  Chalais  to  become  his 
second  in  a  duel  with  the  Count  de  Candale,t  with  whom 
he  had  a  quarrel  on  the  subject  of  the  Countess  de  Rohan, 
to  whom  they  both  paid  their  court.  He  had,  however, 
acquired  a  bad  reputation  from  the  fact  that  he  had  by  un- 
fair means  killed  his  antagonist,  Marshal  Hocquincourt,  in 
a  former  duel ;  and  Chalais,  who  dreaded  the  repetition  of 
such  an  adventure,  refused  in  consequence  ;  which  so  piqued 
Louvigny  that  he  instantly  hurried  to  the  cardinal  and  told 
him,  not  only  all  he  knew,  but  much  that  he  did  not  know.| 
The  extent  of  his  actual  information  amounted  to  no  more 
than  that  Chalais  had  written  to  the  persons  already  named  ; 
and  that  which  he  asserted  without  authority  was  that  Cha- 
lais had  pledged  himself  to  take  the  king's  life,  and  that  the 
Duke  d'Anjou  and  his  friends  were  to  guard  the  door  of 
the  apartments  during  the  perpetration  of  the  crime,  in  or- 
der to  assist  him  should  he  require  their  help.  All  these 
particulars  the  cardinal  immediately  committed  to  paper, 
and  compelled  Louvigny  to  sign. 

Richelieu  now  had  the  game  in  his  own  hands.  He  cared 
not  to  implicate  either  the  Count  de  Soissons  or  the  Mar- 
quis de  la  Valette,  because  their  disgrace  could  produce  no 
latent  advantage ;  but,  with  able  management,  much,  he  at 

*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 

t  Eldest  son  of  the  Duke  d'Epenion.  t  Bassompierre. 


72  LOlIo     XIV.     AND 

once  felt,  might  be  made  of  the  accusation,  against  the  Mar- 
quis de  Laisques,  in  whose  conspiration  with  the  archduke 
the  King  of  Spain  might  be  involved ;  and  the  King  of 
Spain,  let  it  not  be  forgotten,  was  the  brother  of  Anne  of 
Austria.  The  plot  was  no  longer  against  the  cardinal  only, 
it  now  included  the  king  also ;  and  the  sword  of  Damocles 
hung  above  both  their  heads,  poised  by  the  same  hair. 
Richelieu,  in  his  secret  soul,  required  no  prompting  fully  to 
comprehend  that  the  danger  which  now  threatened  Louis 
arose  principally  from  the  hatred  that  existed  against  him- 
self; but  it  was  not  so  much  this  consciousness  which  obliged 
him  to  exert  his  best  energies  to  avert  it,  as  the  no  less  for- 
cible conviction  that  the  death  of  Louis  XIII.  would  inevi- 
tably involve  his  own  ;  and  thus  he  lost  no  time  in  adopting 
measures  to  counteract  this  new  conspiracy. 

He  at  once  dispatched  Rochefort,  his  confidential  agent, 
to  Brussels,  in  the  garb  of  a  monk,  giving  him  strict  orders 
to  watch  every  movement  of  the  Marquis  de  Laisques  ;  and 
his  myrmidon  had  little  difficulty  in  executing  his  commis- 
sion ;  for,  having  affected  a  hatred  of  the  cardinal  in  the 
presence  of  that  nobleman,  who  resided  in  the  monastery 
where  he  had  taken  up  his  temporary  abode,  every  one 
about  him  was  deceived ;  and  the  marquis  among  the  rest, 
so  thoroughly,  that  he  requested  him  to  return  to  France  in 
charge  of  some  letters  which  he  was  anxious  to  send  by  a 
safe  hand,  as  they  contained  matters  of  importance.  Roche- 
fort  affected  great  fear  of  the  commission,  which  only  ren- 
dered Laisques  more  urgent.  Then  he  represented  that 
he  could  not  quit  the  convent  without  permission  from  the 
superior ;  but  this  objection  was  at  once  overruled  bv  the 
marquis,  who  forthwith  procured  the  indulgence  for  the 
supposed  monk  on  the  plea  of  his  weak  health,  and  he  was 
authorized  to  proceed  to  Forges  for  the  benefit  of  the  wa- 
ters. He  then  took  possession  of  the  letters ;  and  had  no 
sooner  arrived  at  Artois  than  he  wrote  to  the  cardinal  to 
inform  him  of  the  whole  transaction. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  73 

Richelieu  instantly  dispatched  a  messenger,  to  whom 
Rochefort  delivered  the  papers ;  and  they  were  no  sooner 
in  the  hands  of  the  minister  than  he  broke  the  seals,  took 
copies  of  all  their  contents,  and  returned  them  to  his  agent, 
who  immediately  wrote  from  Forges  to  desire  the  person 
to  whom  they  were  addressed  to  come  and  receive  them. 
This  was  an  advocate  named  Pierre,  who,  on  receipt  of  the 
summons,  never  doubting  that  he  had  fallen  under  the  sur- 
veillance of  the  cardinal's  police,  started  at  once  for  Forges, 
and,  without  halting  upon  the  road,  arrived  at  his  desti- 
nation, received  the  packet  from  Rochefort,  and  returned 
with  the  same  haste  to  Paris,  where  he  alighted  at  the  hotel 
Chalais. 

Upon  these  papers  Richelieu  founded  his  accusation  ;  for, 
according  to  his  showing,  they  contained  the  double  project 
of  the  king's  death,  and  the  marriage  of  Anne  of  Austria 
with  the  Duke  d'Anjou ;  a  plot  which  fully  explained  the 
repugnance  of  the  prince  to  an  alliance  with  Mademoiselle 
de  Bourbon.* 

Chalais  was  accordingly  accused  of  conniving  with  the 
wife  and  brother  of  the  king  to  effect  his  assassination  ;  and 
Louis,  when  the  plot  was  imparted  to  him  by  the  cardinal, 
wished  instantly  to  arrest  the  prince,  and  to  put  the  queen 
and  the  Duke  d'Anjou  upon  their  trial ;  but  from  this  de- 
sign he  was  dissuaded  by  his  minister,  who  entreated  him 
to  suffer  the  conspiracy  to  ripen.  Alarmed,  nevertheless, 
lest  Chalais  should  escape  out  of  his  hands,  the  king  re- 
solved upon  a  journey  into  Brittany,  accompanied  by  the 
court ;  and  the  intended  victim,  without  one  suspicion 
of  the  fate  that  awaited  him,  followed  with  his  fellow- 
courtiers. 

Chalais  had  also  written  a  letter  to  the  King  of  Spain,  in 
which  he  entreated  him  to  conclude  a  treaty  with  the  disaf- 
fected nobles  of  France ;  and  the  reply  to  this  request  fol- 
lowed him  to  Nantes,  although  it  is  probable  that  it  had  pre- 
*  Louis  XIV  et  son  Siecle. 

VOL.  I. — D 


74  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

viously  passed  through  the  hands  of  the  minister.  The  day 
after  its  arrival  he  was  arrested. 

It  is  certain  that  the  queen,  as  well  as  the  Duke  d'Anjou 
and  Madame  de  Chevreuse,  were  aware  of  the  nature  of 
the  letter  received  by  Chalais ;  and  although  perfectly  inno- 
cent of  all  designs  against  the  life  of  the  king — for  they  nev- 
er dreamed  that  the  accusation  of  the  cardinal  could  extend 
so  far — they  were  nevertheless  conscious  that  they  must  be 
seriously  compromised  if  the  letter  had  been  intercepted,  as 
it  was  decidedly  a  conspiracy  against  the  state  when  they 
invited  the  Spaniards  to  enter  France. 

The  trial  proceeded  in  vigorous  silence ;  and  the  pleas- 
ures which  the  court  had  anticipated  at  Nantes  gave  place 
to  gloom  and  apprehension.  The  queen  supported  her  ter- 
ror in  silence,  and  made  no  effort  to  save  herself  from  what 
she  considered  irremediable  ruin  ;  but  Gaston  was  less  self- 
possessed,  and  gave  way  to  fits  of  passion  and  useless  blas- 
phemy ;  while  Madame  de  Chevreuse,  less  timid  than  either, 
preserved  both  her  activity  and  her  courage,  and  endeavor- 
ed on  every  side  to  create  friends  for  the  prisoner.  No 
one,  however,  saw  fit  to  incur  the  vengeance  of  Richelieu, 
by  undertaking  his  cause;  the  arrest  of  the  Vendome 
princes  had  rendered  them  cautious. 

Confronted  with  the  fatal  letters,  Chalais  at  once  admit- 
ted the  validity  of  that  of  the  Spanish  king,  but  asserted  that 
his  own  had  been  garbled.  He  declared  that  his  dispatches 
to  the  Marquis  de  Laisques  had  made  no  allusion  to  the  as- 
sassination of  the  king,  nor  to  the  marriage  of  his  brother 
with  Anne  of  Austria  ;  and  boldly  added,  that  it  was  easy 
for  a  man,  so  clever  as  the  cardinal,  and  so  well  supplied 
with  secretaries,  to  render  the  most  innocent  writing  a  mat- 
ter of  life  and  death. 

This  fearless  derogation  embarrassed  Richelieu ;  it  was 
not  enough  for  him  to  feel  that  the  tribunal  which  he  had 
himself  formed  would  assuredly  condemn  Chalais.  It  was 
evident  that  the  king's  faith  was  shaken  as  to  the  extent  of 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  75 

his  guilt ;  and  if  the  cardinal  did  not  succeed  in  proving  the 
whole  accusation  against  him,  both  the  queen  and  the  Duke 
d'Anjou  must  necessarily  escape  ;  and  credulous  as  Louis 
continually  proved  himself,  it  was  nevertheless  essential  to 
convince  his  judgment  upon  so  important  a  question  as 
this,  which  involved  the  safety  of  those  nearest  to  his  person. 
Moreover,  three  individuals  still  opposed  the  marriage  be- 
tween the  Duke  d'Anjou  and  Mademoiselle  de  Bourbon; 
and  these  were  the  Count  de  Barradas,  who  had  succeed- 
ed Chalais  himself  in  the  favor  of  Louis ;  Tronson,  his  pri- 
vate secretary  ;  and  Sauveterre,  his  first  valet-de-chambre  ; 
and  these  represented  to  his  majesty  the  danger  which  ex- 
isted in  allying  his  brother  with  the  Guises,  who  had  long 
coveted  the  French  throne ;  and  suffering  him,  by  the  ac- 
quisition of  such  immense  wealth,  to  rival  himself  in  re- 
sources, when,  in  times  of  such  discontent  and  ambition  as 
the  present,  money  made  power. 

Between  the  arguments  of  the  cardinal,  and  those  of  his 
three  favorites,  Louis  remained  moody  and  irresolute,  and 
Richelieu  soon  perceived  that  a  great  blow  must  be  struck, 
or  his  vengeance  would  escape  him.  The  same  night  he 
assumed  the  dress  of  a  layman,  and  visited  the  dungeon  of 
Chalais.  He  remained  with  the  prisoner  half-an-hour,  at 
the  expiration  of  which  time  he  left  the  prison ;  and,  late  as 
it  was,  proceeded  at  once  to  the  apartment  of  the  king, 
whom  he  approached  in  silence,  as  he  tendered  to  him  a 
folded  paper.  This  paper  contained  the  confession  of 
Chalais,  and  the  accusation  of  the  Duke  d'Anjou  and  Anne 
of  Austria  of  the  crime  laid  to  their  charge.  Louis  was 
overpowered  by  its  perusal,  and  besought  his  minister  to 
pardon  the  doubts  by  which  he  had  been  beset ;  while  the 
cardinal,  satisfied  with  the  success  of  his  double  denuncia- 
tion, only  replied  by  requesting  his  majesty's  silence  on  the 
subject  of  the  document  which  he  had  laid  before  him ;  and 
forthwith  retired  from  the  presence. 

Gaston,  more  and  more  alarmed  by  the  aspect  of  affairs, 


76  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

again  resolved  to  secure  las  safety  by  flight ;  but  he  knew 
not  which  way  to  turn.  M.  de  la  Valette  had  refused  to 
receive  him  into  Metz ;  he  was  suspicious  of  the  Count  de 
Soissons ;  and  he  had  nothing  left  but  La  Rochelle.  He 
accordingly  attended  the  lever  of  the  king,  and  requested 
permission  to  visit  the  sea-side.  Louis  replied,  affection- 
ately, that  he  had  better  apply  to  the  cardinal  upon  the 
subject,  but  that,  for  his  own  part,  he  saw  no  objection  to 
this  little  journey  ;  and  reassured  very  considerably  by  the 
manner  of  his  brother,  Gaston  set  out  without  delay  to 
Beauregard,  to  secure  the  consent  of  the  minister. 

Richelieu  received  him  with  scrupulous  respect ;  but, 
upon  his  stating  the  reason  of  his  visit,  he  advised  him  to 
postpone  his  journey  until  after  his  marriage.  Gaston  plead- 
ed the  state  of  his  health,  and  declared  that  sea  air  wras 
essential  to  his  recovery;  upon  which  the  cardinal,  holding 
before  his  eyes  the  confession  of  Chalais,  assured  his  royal 
highness  that  he  would  there  find  a  prescription  more  effi- 
cacious than  any  change  of  climate.  The  duke  turned  pale 
as  he  recognized  the  writing ;  and  he  had  no  sooner  hastily 
perused  the  whole,  than  he  declared  himself  ready  to  obey 
the  will  of  the  cardinal  in  all  things.  Upon  finding  that  the 
united  income  of  Mademoiselle  de  Bourbon  and  himself 
would  amount  to  nearly  1,500,000  livres,  he  became  more 
animated  in  the  discussion,  and  finally  stipulated  that  his 
consent  should  be  consequent  on  the  liberation  of  Chalais  ; 
but  to  this  condition  Richelieu  would  not  consent,  alledging 
that  it  was  not  his  province,  but  that  of  the  king,  to  pardon 
great  criminals ;  and  that  there  was  no  doubt  his  majesty 
would  remit  the  execution  of  a  gentleman  for  whom  he 
had  once  felt  so  much  affection. 

Moreover,  to  the  continued  entreaties  of  the  duke,  he  re- 
plied that  he  should  himself  regret  the  death  of  a  person  who 
had  rendered  him  essential  services;  and  that  his  royal  hio-h- 
ness  might  consequently  rely  upon  his  best  energies  in  behalf 
of  the  prisoner,  and  dismiss  all  uneasiness  on  his  account. 


THE     C  O  U  R  T     OF     F  It  A  N  C  E.  77 

On  the  evening  of  the  same  day  the  duke  was  summon- 
ed to  the  presence  of  the  king,  where  he  found  the  Queen- 
Mother,  the  cardinal,  and  the  keeper  of  the  seals  ;  and  was 
apprehensive  of  arrest,  but  he  was  merely  required  to  sign 
a  paper.  It  was,  however,  of  a  very  serious  nature,  for  it 
set  forth  that  he  had  received  offers  from  the  Count  de 
Soissons ;  that  the  queen,  his  sister-in-law,  had  written  him 
several  letters  to  dissuade  him  from  marrying  Mademoiselle 
de  Bourbon ;  and  that  the  Abbe  Scaglia,  ambassador  in 
Savoy,  had  also  meddled  in  this  intrigue.  The  name  of 
Chalais  was  not  mentioned.  The  timid  prince  obeyed,  and 
renewed  his  promise  to  marry  Mademoiselle  de  Bourbon, 
on  condition  that  he  should  be  allowed  to  go  to  Nantes. 
This  was  conceded ;  but  a  few  days  subsequently  he  was 
recalled  in  order  that  the  marriage  might  be  celebrated. 
Mademoiselle  de  Bourbon  had  already  arrived,  accompa- 
nied by  her  mother,  the  Duchess  de  Guise ;  who,  although 
immensely  rich,  having  been  the  heiress  of  the  house  of 
Joyeuse,  gave  her  daughter  only  a  single  diamond  as  her 
dowry — but  that  diamond  was  valued  at  eighty  thousand 
crowns  ! 

The  marriage  was  a  melancholy  one  ;  and  on  the  mor- 
row, the  prince  departed  for  Chateaubiiand,  in  order  to 
escape  from  a  town  in  which  the  trial  of  his  confidant  was 
about  to  be  resumed.  Meanwhile  the  mother  of  Chalais 
had  arrived,  and  made  several  efforts  to  obtain  an  audience 
of  the  monarch,  who  resolutely  refused  to  see  her ;  and  on 
the  condemnation  of  her  son — which  shortly  supervened, 
and  by  which  he  was  condemned  to  lose  his  head,  to  be 
quartered,  and  his  property  confiscated  to  the  king — she 
made  a  last  effort,  by  writing  to  Louis  one  of  the  most 
affecting  letters  ever  penned;  but  which  produced  for 
all  result  merely  the  commutation  of  that  portion  of  the 
sentence  that  ordained  the  quartering  of  his  body.  In  the 
depth  of  her  despair  she  thought  for  a  moment  of  throwing 
*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


78  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

herself  upon  the  mercy  of  the  cardinal ;  but  she  soon  felt 
that  in  him  there  was  no  hope ;  and  as  a  last  resource  she 
humbled  herself  to  solicit  the  compassion  of  the  execu- 
tioners, of  whom  there  were  at  that  moment  two  in  the  city  : 
the  executioner  of  the  king,  and  the  functionary  of  Nantes. 
She  sacrificed  her  gold  and  her  jewels,  as  well  as  her 
pride,  in  this  final  effort  of  a  mother's  love ;  and  the  con- 
sequence of  her  success  was  fatal ;  for  on  the  day  of  exe- 
cution— after  Chalais  had  recanted  all  the  assertions  which 
had  been  dictated  by  the  cardinal  himself,  who  had  wrung 
them  from  him  by  a  promise  that  his  life  should  be  spared ; 
and  had  demanded  to  be  confronted  with  Louvigny,  who 
was  his  sole  accuser,  and  whom  he  compelled  to  deny  the 
truth  of  the  accusations  which  he  had  advanced — his  hour 
of  suffering  was  delayed  by  the  fact  that  both  the  execu- 
tioners had  disappeared.  It  was  a  short  respite,  however, 
for  a  rumor  soon  spread  that  a  new  headsman  had  been 
secured ;  and  such  was  unhappily  the  case,  for  a  soldier 
condemned  to  the  gibbet  had  been  prevailed  upon,  by  the 
promise  of  free  pardon,  to  do  the  work  of  death.  Even  to 
the  last  moment  Madame  de  Chalais  would  not  forsake 
her  son,  but  walked  with  him  to  the  very  foot  of  the  block  : 
nor  dare  we  further  portray  the  tragedy  of  which  she  re- 
mained a  spectator,  than  by  stating  that  the  unhappy 
wretch  who  had  consented  to  pay  such  a  price  for  the  pro- 
longation of  his  existence,  overcome  with  honor  at  his  un- 
wonted task,  only  destroyed  his  victim  at  the  twentieth 
stroke  !  When  all  was  over,  the  supernatural  strength  of 
the  bereaved  mother  still  sufficiently  supported  her  to  en- 
able her  to  exclaim  as  she  rose  from  her  knees  : — "  My  God, 
I  thank  thee  !  I  thought  myself  only  the  parent  of  a  crim- 
inal, and  I  am  the  mother  of  a  martyr !" 

Individual  history  contains  no  bloodier  page  then  that 
which  records  the  execution  of  Chalais. 

When  the  queen  was  summoned  to  the  council  to  an- 
swer to  the  charges  made  against  her,  a  simple  stool  only 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  79 

was  provided  for  her  accommodation.  Throughout  the 
reading  of  the  deposition  of  Louvigny,  and  the  confession 
of  Chalais,  she  preserved  a  resolute  silence ;  but  when  she 
was  reproached  with  having  authorized  the  assassination 
of  the  king,  in  order  that  she  might  become  the  wife  of 
the  Duke  d'Anjou,  she  raised  her  head,  and  answered 
with  quiet  scorn  :  "  I  should  not  have  gained  sufficient  by 
the  exchange."  A  reply  which  so  wounded  the  spirit  of 
the  king,  that  to  the  latest  hour  of  his  existence  he  believed 
her  guilty. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


The  Cardinal's  Enemies — Projects  of  Buckingham — Death  of  the  Duch- 
ess d'Orleans — The  Count  de  Bouteville ;  his  Duels — The  Challenge 
— New  Executions — The  King  before  La  Rochelle — Court  Treachery 
— Arrest  of  Lord  Montagu — Famine  in  La  Rochelle — Tragical  Death 
of  Buckingham — Laporte  in  the  Bastille — Renewed  Banishment  of 
Marie  de  Medicis — Self-Expatriation  of  the  Duke  d'Orleans — Destitu- 
tion of  the  Duke  d'Epernon  and  the  Marquis  de  Vieuville — Execution 
of  the  Duke  de  Montmorency — Mazarin  in  France — The  Siege  of 
Landrecy — Bh-th  of  the  Count  de  Guiche — The  Duke  de  Grammont ; 
his  Father — The  Triple  Alliance — Private  Marriage  of  Gaston  d'Or- 
leans with  Marguerite  of  Lorraine — Estrangement  of  Louis  XIII.  and 
Anne  of  Austria — Mademoiselle  de  la  Fayette — Father  Joseph — The 
5th  of  December,  1637 — Morality  of  Louis  XIII. — Visit  to  the  Lou- 
vre— Pregnancy  of  Anne  of  Austria — The  Count  de  Chavigny — Gen- 
eral Rejoicing  —  Indisposition  of  the  Cardinal  —  The  royal  Hunts  — 
Declining  Health  of  Louis  XIII. — The  Cardinal  and  the  Astrologer 
— Birth  of  Louis  XIV. — The  Swaddling-clothes — Poverty  of  Louis 
XIII. — Social  Position  of  the  Kingdom — Partial  Reconciliation  of  the 
King  and  Queen — M.  de  Cinq-Mars — Birth  of  the  Duke  d'Anjou — 
Execution  of  Cinq-Mars  and  De  Thou — Death  of  Marie  de  Medicis 
at  Cologne — Fatal  Indisposition  of  Richelieu ;  his  Quarrel  with  Louis 
XIII.— The  State  Prisoners. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  81 

From  this  period  Richelieu  became  the  sovereign  master 
of  the  kingdom.  Little  remained  to  embarrass  his  meas- 
ures save  the  city  of  La  Rochelle,  which  had  been  ceded 
to  the  Huguenots  by  Henry  IV.,  at  the  time  of  the  publi 
cation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes.  He  was  aware  that  it  was 
there  Gaston  had  latterly  intended  to  take  refuge ;  and  he 
could  not  brook  that  any  portion  of  the  empire  should  be 
beyond  the  grasp  of  his  authority.  This  city  was,  conse- 
quently, a  perpetual  subject  of  annoyance  to  the  cardinal, 
who  saw  in  it  a  hotbed  of  heresy,  rebellion,  and  discord. 
The  Duke  de   Soubise,*  and  his  brother,!  the  Duke  de 

*  Benjamin  de  Rohan,  Seigneur  de  Soubise,  was  born  about  the  year 
1549.  He  first  served  in  Holland,  under  Maurice  de  Nassau,  and  in 
1621  he  was  appointed,  by  the  Protestant  Assembly  held  at  La  Ro- 
chelle, GeneralrCommandant  of  the  Provinces  of  Anjou,  Brittany,  and 
Poitou.  Compelled  to  deliver  up  the  town  of  Saint-John  d'Angely, 
which  he  defended,  he  was  soon  set  at  liberty,  and  distinguished  him- 
self by  many  acts  of  braveiy.  He  retired  to  England  in  1629,  where 
he  died  in  1641. 

t  Henry,  Duke  de  Rohan,  Prince  de  Leon,  was  the  head  of  the  Prot- 
estant party  under  Louis  XIII.,  and  was  the  eldest  son  of  Rene,  the 
second  Vicomte  de  Rohan.  Born  at  Blein,  in  Brittany,  in  1579,  he 
commenced  his  military  career  under  Henry  IV.,  who  had  adopted 
him,  and  would  have  been  his  successor  on  the  throne  of  France,  but 
for  the  birth  of  Louis  XIII.  Henry  IV.  created  him  a  duke  and  peer 
in  1603,  Colonel-General  of  the  Swiss  forces  in  1605,  and  the  same  year 
married  him  to  Marguerite  de  Bethune,  the  daughter  of  Sully.  After 
the  death  of  that  monarch,  he  entered  into  a  struggle  with  the  court, 
and  sustained  three  wars  against  Louis  XIII.  The  first  terminated  in 
1622,  by  a  treaty  of -peace  which  confirmed  the  edict  of  Nantes,  but 
which  was  soon  violated.  The  second  terminated  in  1626,  by  a  new 
peace.  Hostilities  then  recommenced  a  third  time;  but  Rohan  com- 
pelled the  court  to  sign  (in  1629)  the  reestablishmeut  of  the  same 
edict.  He  then  entered  into  negotiation  with  the  Porte  for  the  pur- 
chase  of  the  island  of  Cyprus  ;  became  Generalissimo  of  the  Venetians 
against  the  Imperialists ;  then  General  of  the  Grisons  ;  and  ultimately, 
dissatisfied  with  the  French  court,  he  attached  himself  to  the  Duke  of 
Saxe-Weimar,  in  whose  service  he  was  killed  in  1638.  He  left  only 
one  daughter,  Marguerite,  who  married  Henry  de  Chabot,  whose  de- 
scendants took  the  name  of  Rohan-Chabot. 


82  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

Rohan,  were  in  London,  and  the  minister  had  ascertained 
that  the  purpose  of  their  voyage  was  to  importune  Charles  I. 
to  undertake  the  cause  of  the  persecuted  Protestants,  in 
which  appeal  they  were  supported  by  all  the  zeal  and  im- 
portunity of  Buckingham. 

At  home  he  had  removed  all  immediate  cause  of  uneasi- 
ness. Henry  de  Conde,*  notwithstanding  his  royal  blood, 
had  passed  three  years  in  the  Bastille,t  and  had  never  re- 
covered the  blow.  The  Grand  Prior  and  the  Duke  de 
Vendome  were  still  prisoners ;  and  for  a  time  the  cardinal 
had  hesitated  whether  he  should  not  put  them  upon  their 
trial,  and  make  them  share  the  fate  of  Chalais ;  but  one  had 
pleaded  his  rights  as  a  peer  of  France,  and  the  other  his 
knighthood  of  Malta,  as  exemptions,  both  of  which  were 
admitted,  and  the  minister  was  compelled  to  satisfy  him- 
self with  their  transfer  from  the  castle  of  Amboise  to  that 
of  Vincennes.  The  Duke  d'Anjou  (who  had,  on  his  mar- 
riage, become  Duke  d'Orleans),  immensely  rich,  and  over- 
whelmed with  minor  titles,  had,  nevertheless,  sunk  into 
utter  insignificance.  Never  before  had  he  fallen  so  low. 
Detested  by  the  king,  despised  by  the  nobility,  and  sur- 
rounded by  spies,  he  scarcely  deserved  the  name  of  an  en- 
emy. Not  only  his  person,  but  even  his  conscience  had 
been  bought  at  a  price;  and  the  steps  of  his  marriage-altar 
had  been  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  Chalais.  The  car- 
dinal could,  for  once,  afford  to  pity  the  work  of  his  own 
hands.     The  Count  de  Soissons  had  preferred  to  owe  his 

*  Henry  II.  de  Bourbon,  Prince  de  Conde,  was  born  in  1588.  He 
married,  in  1609,  Charlotte  de  Montmorency,  to  whom  Henry  IV.  be- 
came tenderly  attached.  In  consequence  of  this  circumstance,  he  quar- 
reled with  the  king,  and  left  France,  where  he  only  returned  after  that 
monarch's  death. 

t  It  was  during  this  period  of  imprisonment,  which  his  wife,  from 
whom  he  had  been  long  estranged,  insisted  upon  sharing  with  him. 
that  she  gave  birth  to  Anne-Genevieve  de  Bourbon,  afterward  Duchess 
de  Longueville,  and  Louis  II.  de  Conde,  who  became,  subsequently, 
the  Great  Conde. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  83 

safety  to  his  personal  discretion ;  and,  satisfied  that  he  was 
compromised,  by  his  proposals  to  Gaston,  beyond  all  hope 
of  pardon,  he  had  quitted  Paris  on  the  pretext  of  indisposi- 
tion, and  had  crossed  the  Alps  to  Turin;  and  thus  La  Ro- 
chelle  alone  remained,  as  we  have  before  remarked,  to 
thwart  the  power  of  Richelieu. 

Meanwhile,  the  king,  who  had  been  jealous  of  Anne  of 
Austria  with  his  brother,  became  more  cold  to  her  after  her 
adventure  with  Buckingham ;  and  from  the  period  of  the 
trial  of  Chalais  exhibited  toward  her  not  merely  suspicion, 
but  even  hate.  Her  only  consolation  was  in  a  correspond- 
ence which  she  continued  to  maintain  with  the  English 
duke,  sometimes  through  the  medium  of  Laporte,*  but 
more  frequently  through  that  of  Madame  de  Chevreuse, 
whom  Richelieu  had  exiled  from  the  court,  and  who  had 
retired  to  her  husband's  principality  of  Lorraine. 

It  was  at  this  period  that  the  queen  received  intelligence 
of  the  speedy  reappearance  of  Buckingham  in  Paris, 
whither  he  declared  himself  to  be  on  the  point  of  returning 
on  a  new  embassy ;  but  this  measure  by  no  means  entered 
into  the  views  of  the  cardinal,  who,  on  the  first  hint  of  such 
a  project,  sent  a  formal  message  from  Louis  to  forbid  the 
advent  of  the  duke  at  the  French  court :  which,  says  Ry- 
der, so  exasperated  Buckingham,  that  "  he  swore  he  would 
see  the  queen  in  spite  of  the  whole  power  of  France  ;"t 
and  forthwith  he  decided  upon  exciting  a  war  between  the 
two  countries. 

We  do  not  purpose  entering  upon  the  details  of  the  short 
struggle  which  ensued ;  suffice  it  that  Buckingham,  anxious 
to  revenge  himself  upon  both  the  king  and  the  cardinal, 
commenced  his  operations  by  causing  a  misunderstanding 

*  After  the  affair  of  Amiens,  Laporte  had,  as  we  have  stated,  fallen 
into  disgrace  with  the  monarch,  and  been  dismissed  from  the  service 
of  the  queen,  who  obtained  for  him  an  ensigncy  in  the  gendarmes  of 
her  guard. 

t  Ryder's  England. 


84  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

between  Charles  I.  and  his  queen,  which  terminated  in  the 
dismissal  of  all  the  French  portion  of  her  household.  Much, 
however,  as  both  Louis  and  his  minister  felt  this  evidently 
premeditated  insult,  Richelieu  resolved  that  it  should  not 
involve  him  in  a  premature  war.  Disappointed  in  his  first 
attempt,  Buckingham  next  permitted,  and  even  encour- 
aged, the  English  ships-of-war  and  privateers  to  intercept 
vessels  belonging  to  the  French  merchants,  which  he  im- 
mediately condemned  as  lawful  prizes* 

Serious  as  these  aggressions  certainly  were,  the  cardinal 
was  not  yet  satisfied ;  and  he  accordingly  substituted  re- 
monstrances for  reprisals,  until  a  public  declaration  on  the 
part  of  England  in  favor  of  the  Huguenots,  should  afford  him 
the  means  of  becoming  master  of  La  Rochelle.  The  result 
of  this  diplomacy  is  matter  of  European  history,  and  we 
therefore  hasten  to  regain  the  current  of  our  less  general 
narrative. 

The  royal  troops  had  scarcely  marched  upon  La  Ro- 
chelle, when  the  young  and  beautiful  Duchess  of  Orleans 
gave  birth  to  a  daughter!"  at  the  price  of  her  own  existence  ; 
and  thus  the  fairest,  and  apparently  the  firmest,  hope  of 
the  French  nation  was  suddenly  blighted ;  and  this  misfor- 
tune was  still  new  and  unfamiliar  to  the  public  mind,  when 
it  was  once  more  disturbed  by  the  execution  of  the  Count 


*  Ryder. 

t  Anne-Marie-Louise  d'Orleans,  known  as  Mademoiselle,  and  La 
Grande  Mademoiselle.  Capricious,  intriguing,  and  impetuous,  but 
nevertheless  full  of  a  truly  royal  courage,  she  attached  herself  to  the  party 
of  the  princes  during  the  wars  of  the  Fronde,  and  took  possession  of  the 
city  of  Orleans,  in  the  year  1652,  accompanied  only  by  two  of  her 
ladies.  Oil  the  2d  of  July,  when  the  Frondeurs  were  in  possession  of 
Paris,  she  turned  the  cannon  of  the  Bastille  against  the  troops  of  Louis 
XIV. ;  an  act  for  which  he  never  forgave  her.  Retired  to  her  estate 
of  Saint-Fargeau,  she  wrote  the  Memoirs  of  her  life.  She  obtained,  in 
1669,  the  royal  permission  to  marry  the  Count  de  Lauzun;  but  this 
was  afterward  withdrawn,  and  she  consoled  herself  by  a  private  mar- 
riage.    She  died  in  1693. 


THE     COURT     OR     FRANCE.  85 

de  Bouteville.*  This  nobleman,  who  had  taken  refuge  in 
the  Low  Countries,  from  the  consequences  of  two-and- 
twenty  duels  in  which  he  had  been  engaged,  and  was  bold 
enough  to  return  to  Paris,  and  to  challenge  the  Marquis 
de  Beuvron  in  the  middle  of  the  Place  Royale,  notwith- 
standing the  severe  ordinances  of  the  king  against  this  vice, 
which  he  was  anxious  to  suppress.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
but  De  Bouteville  believed  that  his  birth  would  protect  him 
against  any  extreme  measure ;  he  had,  however,  miscalcu- 
lated the  risk  which  he  thus  voluntarily  incurred,  for  he 
was  arrested  at  Vitry,  and  imprisoned  in  the  Bastille,  as 
well  as  his  second,  the  Count  des  Chapelles,  who  had  pre- 
viously killed  his  adversary,  the  brave  Bussy  d'Amboise,  in 
the  same  manner ;  and  finally,  both  the  criminals  were  ex- 
ecuted at  Greve,  despite  all  the  efforts  made  by  the  first 
and  noblest  houses  in  France  to  obtain  a  remission  of  their 
sentence  ;  while  it  is  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  features 
of  the  rule  of  Richelieu,  that  all  this  proud  and  turbulent 
nobility,  who  drew  their  swords  upon  the  slightest  pretext, 
not  only  permitted  the  execution,  but  witnessed  it  without 
one  effort  to  revenge  their  order.  The  panic  was  univer- 
sal. Some  solution  of  this  mystery  is,  nevertheless,  afford- 
ed by  the  fact,  that  at  the  particular  moment  of  its  occur- 
rence Louis  was  rallying  around  him  all  the  nobles  of  his 
kingdom,  whom  he  had  declared  his  intention  of  leading  in 
person  against  La  Rochelle. 

We  shall  not,  however,  follow  the  king  to  the  siege,  but 
confine  ourselves  to  circumstances  more  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  court.  Buckingham,  who  had  sown  dis- 
sension between  two  great  nations,  had  done  so  only  in 
furtherance. of  his  romantic  passion  for  Anne  of  Austria; 
but  the  effects  of  his  rashness  were  nevertheless  calculated 

*  Francis  de  Montmorency,  Count  de  Bouteville,  was  governor  of 
Senlis,  and  acquired  great  renown  by  his  skill  and  intrepidity  as  a 
duelist.  He  was  the  son  of  Louis  de  Montmorency,  and  the  father  of 
the  celebrated  Marshal  Luxembourg. 


86  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

to  be  extensive  and  important.  He  had  first  sought  to 
embroil  France  with  England,  which  point  he  had  already- 
accomplished  ;  while,  by  another  ramification,  he  sought  to 
produce  an  alliance  between  Charles  I.  and  the  Dukes  of 
Lorraine,  Savoy,  and  Bavaria,  as  well  as  the  Archduchess 
who  governed  Flanders  in  the  name  of  Spain;  and  this 
intrigue,  which  had  been  prepared  by  Madame  de  Chev- 
reuse  in  her  exile,  Buckingham  had  intrusted  to  his  most 
clever  confidant  and  most  trustworthy  agent,  the  Lord 
Montagu. 

The  cardinal  was  not  idle,  however ;  and  he  possessed 
agents  as  sure,  and  confidants  as  secret,  as  those  of  his  ad- 
versary ;  and  thus  Buckingham  had  no  sooner  completed 
his  scheme  than  it  was  in  the  hands  of  Richelieu,  who  forth- 
with submitted  it  to  the  king ;  being  at  the  same  time 
careful  to  impress  upon  his  mind,  that  all  these  present  and 
pending  troubles  were  alike  attributable  to  the  mutual  pas- 
sion of  Anne  of  Austria  and  the  English  duke ;  an  assur- 
ance which  by  no  means  rendered  the  announcement  of 
this  new  difficulty  more  palatable  to  Louis,  whose  aversion 
to  the  queen  grew  daily  more  decided. 

The  consequences  of  the  cardinal's  ill  offices  were  soon 
painfully  apparent  to  the  queen ;  for,  on  her  hastening  from 
Paris  to  Villeroi,  in  order  to  attend  the  sick-bed  of  the 
monarch,  who  had  been  arrested  on  his  way  to  La  Rochelle 
by  severe  indisposition,  she  was  informed  by  M.  d'Hu- 
mieres,  his  first  groom  of  the  chamber,  that  His  Majesty 
had  strictly  forbidden  all  entrance  to  his  apartment ;  but 
that,  as  it  was  impossible  the  king  could  have  included 
Her  Majesty  in  the  prohibition,  being  even  unaware 
of  her  arrival,  he  should  venture  to  infringe  upon  his 
orders.  He  did  so  accordingly ;  and  ten  minutes  after- 
ward Anne  of  Austria  left  the  sick-room  drowned  in  tears, 
and  M.  d'Humieres  received  an  order  immediately  to  leave 
the  court. 

The  queen  only  returned  to  Paris  to  learn  the  arrest  of 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  87 

Lord  Montagu,  whom  the  agents  of  Richelieu  had  tracked 
from  the  frontier,  and  among  whose  effects  they  had  dis- 
covered the  secret  dispatches  of  Buckingham ;  and  her 
terror  was  extreme,  lest  he  should  moreover  have  been  the 
bearer  of  a  letter  to  herself,  which  had  also  passed  into  the 
possession  of  the  cardinal.  In  this  extremity  she  remem- 
bered Laporte,  and  succeeded,  through  his  medium,  in 
ascertaining  that  her  name  had  not  been  mentioned  in  the 
dispatches,  nor  had  any  letter  been  forwarded  to  herself. 
From  the  fortress  of  Coiffy,  where  he  had  first  been  lodged, 
Lord  Montagu  was  subsequently  removed  to  the  Bastille  ; 
but  he  made  the  journey  well  mounted,  and  with  every 
appearance  of  liberty,  save  that  he  was  well  guarded,  and 
deprived  of  both  sword  and  spurs. 

Meanwhile,  the  garrison  of  La  Rochelle  were  reduced  to 
a  state  of  fearful  famine,  and  the  Duchess  de  Rohan  and  her 
daughter  had  set  a  noble  example,  by  confining  themselves 
to  a  portion  of  horse-flesh  and  five  ounces  of  bread  daily 
between  both ;  but  even  this  miserable  diet,  meager  and  re- 
pugnant as  it  was,  could  not  be  attained  by  the  mass  of 
wretched  beings  who  had  sought  refuge  in  the  city ;  and 
at  length,  between  two  and  three  hundred  men,  and  as 
many  women,  unable  longer  to  contend  against  their  suffer- 
ings, and  driven  to  desperation,  resolved  to  venture  forth, 
and  to  throw  themselves  upon  the  mercy  of  the  king.  They 
did  not,  however,  understand  the  vindictive  nature  of  Louis ; 
who,  exasperated  by  the  refusal  of  the  city  to  surrender, 
immediately  issued  an  order  that  the  men  should  be  stop- 
ped naked,  and  the  women  denuded  to  their  under  gar- 
ment, and  afterward  flogged  back  to  the  walls  from  whence 
they  had  just  emerged ;  a  command  which  was  so  effect- 
ually obeyed,  that  the  unfortunates  found  themselves  once 
more  at  the  gate  of  the  besieged  city,  sinking  from  famine, 
perishing  with  cold,  and  wounded  and  bleeding  from  the 
blows  they  had  received,  only  to  be  refused  readmission  to 
the  wretched  haven  thev  had  abandoned.     In  this  condition 


88  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

they  remained  during  three  days  and  nights ;  but,  event- 
ually, the  gate  was  flung  open,  and  they  were  permitted 
again  to  share  the  misery  of  their  fellow-sufferers. 

After  this  occurrence,  the  besieged  felt  that  there  was 
no  clemency  to  be  anticipated  from  the  king,  and  they  con- 
tinued to  hold  the  city  with  all  the  tenacity  of  despair,  still 
trusting  to  the  arrival  of  the  fleet  announced  to  them  from 
England,  when  the  news  of  Buckingham's  assassination 
crushed  their  last  glimmer  of  hope ;  and,  accordingly,  the 
city  capitulated  on  the  23th  of  October,  1628,  after  sustain- 
ing a  siege  of  eleven  months ;  during  which  time,  the  num- 
ber of  persons  who  had  been  shut  up  in  the  town  had  di- 
minished, through  famine  and  hardship,  from  fifteen  thou- 
sand to  four  thousand.* 

On  his  return  to  Paris,  Louis  hastened  to  the  queen,  and, 
unaware  that  the  news  had  already  reached  her,  proceeded 
to  inform  her  of  the  death  of  Buckingham,  which  he  did  in 
terms  of  self-gratulation,  well  calculated  to  imbitter  her 
feelings  toward  himself.  She,  therefore,  outraged  by  this 
premeditated  insult,  disdained  all  dissimulation,  and,  shut- 
ting herself  up  with  those  of  her  immediate  circle,  made  no 
effort  to  conceal  her  grief.  A  rupture  between  the  royal 
pair  was  the  inevitable  consequence  of  this  mutual  spirit  of 
defiance,  which  endured  throughout  the  ten  following  years  ; 
envenomed,  moreover,  by  the  death  of  M.  de  Montmorency, 
the  war  with  Spain,  in  1635,  and  the  secret  intelligence  be- 
tween Anne  of  Austria  and  ML  de  Mirabel,  the  Spanish 
ambassador.  The  faithful  Laporte  was  the  victim  of  this 
intelligence,  and  was  consigned  to  the  Bastille  for  his  par- 
ticipation in  the  correspondence. 

About  two  years  after  the  capture  of  La  Rochelle,  Marie 
de  Medicis  once  more  fell  into  disgrace,  and  was  banished 
from  France.  This  exile  of  the  widow  of  Henry  IV.  caused 
great  dissension  at  court,  and  at  the  head  of  the  malcontents 
was  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  who  had  violent  words  with  the 
*  Rvder. 


THE     COUUTOF     FRANCE.  89 

king  upon  the  subject ;  and  not  being  able  to  prevail  against 
the  influence  of  Richelieu,  subsequently  left  the  country,  and 
joined  the  army  in  Flanders.  Shortly  afterward  a  Chapter 
of  the  Order  was  held  at  Fontainebleau,  where  the  Duke 
d'Epernon  and  the  Marquis  de  Vieuville  were  stripped  of 
its  insignia,  and  had  their  banners  torn  down  and  broken,  in 
consequence  of  their  having  followed  his  fortunes.  The 
Duke  de  Montmorency*  fared  still  worse ;  for,  after  having 
assisted  Gaston  to  raise  Lower  Languedoc,  he  was  beaten 
at  Castelnaudry  by  Schomberg,  received  two  pistol-wounds, 
and  was  taken  prisoner  (1632),  conveyed  to  Toulouse, 
where  he  was  tried,  and  finally  executed  on  the  30th  of  Oc- 
tober. The  reconciliation  of  the  king  with  his  brother  was 
delayed  by  the  ambition  of  the  cardinal,  who  insisted  that, 
as  a  condition  of  his  pardon,  he  should  be  required  to  break 
off  his  projected  marriage  with  Marguerite  of  Lorraine,  and 
marry  his  niece  (afterward  Madame  d'Aiguillon) ;  but  this 
concession  was  not  made.t 

*  Henry,  the  second  duke,  born  at  Chantilly,  in  1595.  He  had  for 
his  sponsor  Henry  IV. ;  was  appointed  admiral  in  1612,  and  knight  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  in  1619.  He  succeeded  his  father  in  the  government 
of  Languedoc ;  and  in  1629  in  Piedmont,  where,  serving  as  a  lieutenant- 
general,  he  gained  the  battle  of  Veillane,  carried  the  siege  of  Casal,  and 
received  the  baton  of  a  marshal.  He  was  the  last  scion  of  the  elder 
branch  of  the  Montmorencys. 

t  Madame  d'Aiguillon  was  the  niece  of  the  cardinal,  and  was  sus- 
pected of  also  being  his  mistress.  In  1620,  she  had  married  Anthony 
Dubourg  de  Combalet,  toward  whom  her  aversion  was  extreme ;  and 
when  he  was  killed  in  the  war  against  the  Huguenots,  she  consequent- 
ly made  a  vow  never  to  take  a  second  husband,  and  to  wear  thence- 
forward the  habit  of  a  Carmelite.  Although  she  had  barely  attained 
her  twenty-sixth  year,  she  dressed  like  a  woman  of  fifty,  wore  a  robe 
of  serge,  and  never  raised  her  eyes.  She  was  dresser  to  the  Queen- 
Mother,  about  whose  person  she  performed  her  duties  in  this  extraor- 
dinary costume ;  but  the  cardinal  her  uncle  becoming  more  and  more 
powerful,  she  began  to  allow  a  few  curls  to  be  seen,  wore  ribbons  on 
her  dress,  and  finally  substituted  silk  for  serge.  Richelieu  having  been 
appointed  prime  minister,  many  suitors  offered  themselves  to  the  fair 
widow  ;  but  all  were  rejected,  although  their  number  comprised  M.  de 


90  LOUI9     XIV.     AND 

In  1631-2,  the  name  of  Mazarin  first  made  itself  con- 
spicuous in  France.  At  twenty  years  of  age  he  had  entered 
the  service  of  the  Cardinal  Bentivoglio,  who  was  so  power- 
fully impressed  by  his  extraordinary  talents  that  he  presented 
him  to  Cardinal  Barberino ;  and  the  introduction  is  worthy 
of  remark,  from  a  coincidence  which  was  probably  not  alto- 
gether accidental.  "  Monseigneur,"  said  his  patron,  as  he 
led  forward  the  young  Jesuit,  "  I  am  under  heavy  obliga- 
tions to  your  illustrious  family ;  but  I  consider  that  I  cancel 
them  all  by  giving  you  this  young  man."  It  was  in  similar 
words  that  Mazarin  himself  afterward  presented  his  suc- 
cessor, Colbert,  to  Louis  XIV. 

From  this  period  the  young  Italian  rose  rapidly.  Sup- 
ported by  so  powerful  a  recommendation,  he  was  intrusted 
with  several  minor  negotiations,  which  he  conducted  with  so 
much  talent  as  to  insure  him  more  important  employment ; 
and  finally,  when,  in  1629,  Louis  XIII.  compelled  the  sep- 
aration of  the  Duke  of  Savoy  from  the  Spaniards,  by  forcing 
the  pass  of  Suza,  Cardinal  Sachette,  who  was  the  Pope's 
representative  at  Turin,  returned  to  Rome,  leaving  Maza 
rin  with  the  title  of  Internuncio,  and  full  powers  to  con- 
clude the  peace. 

His  new  duties  compelled  the  young  diplomatist  to  un- 
dertake several  journeys,  one  of  which  founded  his  fortune. 
He  went  to  Lyons  in  1630,  was  presented  to  Louis  XIII., 
who  was  then  in  that  city,  and  subsequently  had  an  inter- 
view of  two  hours  with  Richelieu  ;  who  was  so  delighted 
with  a  conversation  in  which  the  clever  Italian  had  display- 

Breze,  M.  de  Bethune,  and  the  Count  de  Sault,  afterward  the  Duke  de 
Lesdiguieres.  It  is,  however,  asserted,  that  the  cardinal,  through  jeal- 
ousy, prevented  her  second  marriage.  She  was,  nevertheless,  near 
forming  an  alliance  with  the  Count  de  Soissons ;  and  the  match  failed 
only  on  account  of  the  low  rank  of  her  first  husband.  Reports  were 
prevalent  that  she  had,  notwithstanding,  become  the  mother  of  four 
children,  whose  paternity  was  ascribed  to  Richelieu.  In  1638,  the  car- 
dinal purchased  for  her  the  Duchy  of  Aiguillon,  of  which  she  assumed 
the  name. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  91 

ed  all  the  resources  of  his  mind,  that  he  immediately  re- 
solved to  attach  him  to  his  own  interests ;  and  the  result  of 
this  determination  restored  Mazarin  to  Italy,  entirely  de- 
voted to  the  French  cause.  In  1634  Richelieu  caused  him 
to  be  made  vice-legate  of  Avignon.  In  1639  he  was  sent 
to  Savoy  as  ambassador-extraordinary  ;  on  the  16th  of  De- 
cember, 1641,  he  was  created  a  cardinal;  and  on  the  25th 
of  the  following  February  he  received  the  hat  from  Louis's 
own  hands* 

In  1637,  while  the  French  forces  under  the  command  of 
the  Cardinal  de  la  Valette  and  the  Duke  de  Veymar  were 
about  to  besiege  Landrecy,  the  Duke  de  Grammont,t  who 
was  serving  as  a  lieutenant-general  under  those  distinguish- 
ed leaders,  was,  on  one  occasion,  when  leaving  the  council- 
tent,  greeted  with  the  intelligence  that  he  was  the  father  of 
a  son,  upon  which  he  immediately  obtained  permission  to 
absent  himself  for  a  few  days  from  his  post,  in  order  to 
assist  at  the  baptism  of  the  Count  de  Guiche,  his  heir. 
The  sponsors  of  the  infant  were  the  Cardinal  de  Richelieu 
and  the  Duchess  d'Aiguillon ;  and  the  ceremony  was  no 
sooner  terminated,  than  the  duke  at  once  returned  to  the 
camp. 

Both  gallantry  and  ambition  would  have  urged  De 
Grammont  to  a  career  of  military  glory,  even  had  he  not 
recognized  any  still  stronger  impetus  ;  but  such  was  far 
from  being  the  case.  Reared,  as  he  had  been,  under  the 
immediate  eye  of  Louis  XIII.,  and  feeling  toward  him,  as 
he  did,  almost  the  affection  of  a  son,  he  never  forgot  that  he 
was,  in  all  probability,  indebted  to  the  monarch  for  his  life, 
the  king  having  withdrawn  both  himself  and  his  brother,  the 

*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 

t  Anthony,  Duke  de  Grammont,  was  the  descendant  of  an  ancient 
family,  and  distinguished  himself  under  both  Louis  XIII.  and  Louis 
XIV.  The  latter  monarch  appointed  him  Marshal  of  France.  He  died 
in  1678,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four  years.  The  Duke  de  Grammont 
was  as  witty  as  he  was  brave ;  and  left  behind  him  his  personal  mem- 
oirs, containing  his  negotiations  in  Spain  and  Germany. 


92 


LOUIS     XIV.     AND 


Chevalier  de  Grammont,*  from  the  authority  and  guardian- 
ship  of  their  father  (Anthony,  the  second  of  the  name) ; 
who,  having  become  satisfied  of  the  infidelity  of  his  wife 
(the  daughter  of  the  Duke  de  Roquelaure),  exerted  the 
light  of  High  and  Low  Justicet  attached  to  his  principality 
of  Bidache,  and  having  tried  and  condemned  her,  at  once 
struck  off  her  head,  before  the  messengers  of  the  monarch 
had  time  to  arrive  and  solicit  her  pardon. 

This  adventure,  which  threatened  to  introduce  a  renewal 
of  the  barbarous  customs  of  the  middle  ages,  caused  Louis 
to  apprehend  that  the  ferocious  husband  might  become 
one  day  an  equally  savage  father,  and  revenge  upon  his 
children  the  crime  for  which  he  had  murdered  their  mother  ; 
and  therefore,  acceding  to  the  prayers  of  the  Dukes  of 
Roquelaure,  he  ordered  the  self-constituted  widower  to 
send  his  sons  to  court,  in  order  that  they  might  be  brought 
up  and  educated  under  his  special  care. 

The  devoted  attachment  of  De  Grammont  for  the  king 
was  well  known  to  Richelieu,  who  considered  all  indi- 
viduals capable  of  such  sentiments  merely  as  noble  dupes, 
who  might  be  rendered  extremely  valuable  to  those  pos- 
sessed of  their  regard  and  confidence ;  and  thus  he  did  not 
fail  to  -pay  his  court  to  Louis,  by  attaching  himself  to  his 

*  Philibert,  the  Chevalier  de  Grammont,  of  whom  Anthony  Hamilton 
wrote  the  celebrated  Memoirs.  He  also  acquired  considerable  celeb- 
rity in  arms ;  and  was,  between  his  frequent  periods  of  exile  from  the 
court,  very  welcome  to  Louis  XIV.,  from  the  attractions  of  his  ready 
wit  and  fertile  imagination.     He  died  in  1707. 

t  There  existed  formerly  in  France,  as  a  seigneurial  privilege,  the 
right  of  exercising  what  was  called  respectively  the  right  of  High, 
Central,  and  Low  Justice.  High  Justice  was  the  possession  of  power 
to  condemn  to  death,  save  in  cases  where  the  criminal  was  of  the 
blood  royal,  which  at  once  removed  him  from  such  jurisdiction.  Cen- 
tral Justice  was  that  of  deciding  actions  between  guardian  and  ward, 
and  awarding  damages  not  exceeding  sixty  sous.  Low  Justice  recog- 
nized the  fines  due  to  the  noble  for  the  trespasses  of  cattle,  and  injuries 
to  property,  for  which  the  fine  did  not  exceed  seven  sous  six  deniers. 
— Saint-Laurent. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  93 

protege,  on  whom,  after  his  eminent  services  at  the  siege 
of  Mantua,  he  bestowed  advanced  rank,  and  the  hand  of 
one  of  his  nieces,  on  the  same  day  that  he  married  two 
others  to  the  Duke  d'Epernon  and  the  Duke  de  Puilaurens. 

The  ceremonials  of  this  triple  alliance  were  so  magnifi- 
cent, that  they  long  afforded  a  subject  of  conversation  to 
all  the  court ;  but  they  were  fortunate  only  to  the  Duke  de 
Grammont ;  for  the  Duke  d'Epernon,  whose  haughty  tem- 
perament irritated  the  cardinal,  was  shortly  afterward  com- 
pelled to  exile  himself  from  the  capital ;  and  the  Dvike  de 
Puilaurens  also  died  in  prison.* 

While  his  father  was  absent  with  the  army,  Armand  de 
Guiche  was  reared  under  the  eye  of  Richelieu,  and  became 
almost  the  foster-child  of  Anne  of  Austria ;  she  had  just 
given  birth  to  Louis  XIV.,  and  she  saw  in  the  young  Count 
de  Guiche  the  same  happy  dispositions  which  she  recognized 
in  her  own  royal  infant. 

Meanwhile  the  marriage  of  the  Duke  d'Anjou  with  the 
Princess  Marguerite  of  Lorraine  had  taken  place.  He 
had  first  seen  her  during  his  residence  in  that  province, 
when  she  was  only  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  became  so 
much  enamored  of  her  person,  that  he  resolved  to  ask  her 
hand  from  M.  de  Vaudemont,  her  father,  who  immediately 
consented  to  the  proposal,  merely  warning  him  to  conceal 
his  intention  from  the  Duke  of  Lorraine,  her  brother,  as  he 
was  aware  that  he  would  refuse  his  consent ;   and  conse- 

*  "  As  soon  as  I  learned  the  return  of  Monsieur  to  France,"  says 
Mademoiselle,  "  I  went  to  Limonrs  to  meet  him.  I  was  only  four  or 
five  years  old  when  he  left.  Having  discovered  that,  on  account  of  my 
extreme  youth,  I  had  not  been  invited  to  a  ballet  given  by  the  king 
and  queen,  and  that  I  wished  to  dance  in  one,  he  assembled  some  of 
the  young  people  of  the  court  of  both  sexes,  to  form  the  figure,  where 
I  greatly  amused  myself.  Nevertheless,  I  was  grieved  that  they  profit 
ed  by  this  opportunity  to  arrest  M.  de  Puilaurens,  the  favorite  of  Mon- 
sieur; whom  the  cardinal,  in  token  of  reconciliation,  had  married  to 
his  niece.  He  was  arrested  at  the  Louvre,  and  carried  a  prisoner  to 
Vincennes,  where  he  died  suddenly,  a  death  of  which  the  cardinal  was 
accused." — M'cmoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier 


94  LOUIS    XIV*     AND 

quently,  in  order  to  preserve  the  secret,  with  the  consent 
of  the  Princess  Marguerite,  he  married  her  privately  in  a 
Benedictine  convent,  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  in 
presence  only  of  M.  de  Vaudemont,  Madame  de  Re- 
miremont  his  sister,  M.  Morel,  the  natural  brother  of  His 
Royal  Highness,  Puilaurens,  the  governess  of  the  Prin- 
cess Marguerite,  and  the  Benedictine  father  who  united 
them.* 

Return  we,  however,  to  the  king  and  his  royal  consort. 
At  the  period  of  the  birth  of  the  Count  de  Guiche  (1637), 
Louis  XIII.  was  almost  entirely  estranged  from  the  queen, 
whom  he  saw  only  at  infrequent  intervals,  when  he  was 
compelled  to  this  cold  and  reluctant  companionship  by  the 
necessities  of  state  ceremony ;  all  confidence  was  at  an  end ; 
and  they  lived  on  in  a  state  of  moral  warfare,  which  en- 
couraged the  hopes  of  the  cardinal,  and  appeared  to  realize 
the  ambitious  yearnings  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans.  The 
prayers  (or  neuvaines)  offered  up  by  the  queen  for  the 
cessation  of  her  childlessness  had  failed  in  their  effect; 
and  she  had  abandoned  herself  to  the  belief  that  she  was 
destined  to  wear  out  her  life  in  bitterness  of  spirit,  and 
that  isolation  of  heart  which  can  only  be  appreciated 
by  those  who,  like  herself,  are  born  with  quick  feelings 
and  susceptible  imaginations.  The  monarch  had,  how- 
ever, relieved  his  mental  ennui  by  attaching  himself  to 
Mademoiselle  de  la  Fayette,t  whose  favor  might  have 
endured  to  an  indefinite  period,  had  she  possessed  suffi- 
cient good  sense  to  abstain  from  all  interference  in  state 

*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 

t  Louise  Motier  de  la  Fayette  was  descended  from  an  ancient  Au- 
vergnat  family.  At  the  age  of  seventeen,  she  entered  the  household 
of  Anne  of  Austria,  as  a  maid  of  honor,  where  she  soon  attracted  the 
attention  of  Louis  XIII.,  who  became  attached  to  her.  The  virtue  of 
Mademoiselle  de  la  Fayette  remained,  however,  unimpeached ;  and 
she  exerted  her  whole  influence  over  the  mind  of  the  king  to  effect  a 
reconciliation  between  himself  and  her  royal  mistress.  She  died  in  the 
convent  of  Chaillot,  of  which  she  was  the  founder,  in  1665. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  95 

affairs ;  but  Father  Joseph,*  with  whom  she  was  con- 
nected through  her  mother,  Marie  Motier  de  Saint-Ro- 
main,t  having  induced  her  to  enter  into  a  cabal  against 
the  cardinal,  whom  that  ambitious  monk  was  anxious  to 
supplant  in  the  royal  favor,  all  tranquillity  and  happiness 
were  at  an  end  both  for  her  royal  admirer  and  herself. 
Contrary  to  his  usual  custom,  Richelieu  made  no  overt 
attempt  to  separate  Louis  and  his  favorite ;  but,  by  brib- 
ing the  confidential  valet-de-chambre  of  the  king,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  and  falsifying  their  letters;  until,  on 
the  eve  of  a  rupture,  an  explanation  took  place  between 
them,  which  revealed  the  enmity  of  the  minister,  and  so 
terrified  the  fair  maid  of  honor,  that  she  hastened  to  take 
refuge  in  the  convent  of  the  Visitation  ;  and,  despite  all 
the  entreaties  of  the  king,  she  refused  to  return  to  the 
world,  which  she  finally  renounced  in  the  spring  of 
1637. 

Although  the  affections  of  Louis  were  no  longer  in  the 
sole  keeping  of  his  cloistered  favorite,  whom  Mademoiselle 
d'Hautefort,  another  of  the  maids  of  honor  to  the  queen, 
had  superseded,  he  could  not  forego  her  occasional  society, 
which  had  become  necessary  to  him  from  habit ;  and  it 
was  one  of  his  visits  to  this  lady  which  changed  the  des- 
tinies of  France.  On  the  evening  of  the  5th  of  December 
in  the  year  just  named,  the  monarch  left  his  retreat  of 
1  A  Capuchin  monk,  the  confidant  of  Richelieu  ;  commonly  called 
His  Gray  Eminence,  to  distinguish  him  from  the  cardinal,  who  was 
known  as  His  Red  Eminence. 

t  Marie  Motier  de  Saint-Romain  was  the  daughter  of  M.  de  Saint- 
Romain,  ambassador  in  Switzerland,  upon  the  occasion  of  whose  de- 
cease, in  1694,  Madame  de  Sevigne  exclaims,  in  a  letter  to  Madame 
Guitaud : — "  The  death  of  M.  de  Saint-Romain  frightens  me ;  there 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  the  interval  of  a  moment  between  his 
liarsh  and  irreligious  life  and  his  demise.  What  can  be  addressed  to 
God  in  favor  of  such  a  philosopher?  As  for  me,  I  can  think  of  nothing 
but  what  St.  Augustin  once  said  of  a  monk  who  had  abjured  Christ- 
ianity,— that  he  was  not  with  us,  for  had  he  been  with  us,  &c.  You 
know  the  rest." 


00  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

Grosbois,*  where  he  was  then  residing,  and  drove  to  the 
convent,  where  Mademoiselle  de  la  Fayette  had  taken  the 
veil  under  the  name  of  Sister  Angelica. 

One  of  the  prerogatives  of  royalty  in  all  Romanist  coun- 
tries is  that  of  entering  into  the  monastic  houses  of  both 
sexes,  and  conversing  freely  with  their  cloistered  tenants ; 
and  consequently  no  impediment  was  raised  to  the  con- 
tinued intercourse  of  the  king  with  his  old  favorite.  More- 
over, the  visits  of  Louis  XIII.  entailed  no  scandal  upon 
either  the  novice  or  her  community,  as  it  was  well  known 
that  the  preference  of  that  monarch  never  exceeded  the 
bounds  of  principle  and  honor;  and  that  the  son  of  Henry 
IV.  and  the  father  of  Louis  XIV.  could  be  accused  neither 
of  imitating  the  libertinism  of  the  first,  nor  of  prompting 
the  licentiousness  of  the  last.  On  this  occasion  Louis  re- 
mained closeted  with  Sister  Angelica  for  four  hours ;  and, 
on  leaving  the  convent,  he  availed  himself  of  the  pretext 
of  a  sudden  storm  which  had  gathered  during  his  visit, 
to  drive  to  the  Louvre  instead  of  returning  to  Grosbois. 
On  his  arrival  at  the  palace  he  at  once  proceeded  to 
the  apartments  of  the  queen,  who  received  him  with  an 
astonishment  which  she  did  not  endeavor  to  disguise,  and 
whose  guest  he  remained  until  the  morrow,  ere  he  re- 
turned to  his  retreat.  Four  months  subsequently  the 
pregnancy  of  Anne  of  Austria  was  publicly  announced, 
and  created  universal  surprise  and  gratulation. 

Before  the  event  became  generally  known,  however,  the 
queen  summoned  M.  de  Chavigny,t  of  whose  attachment 
she  was   assured,   and   commissioned   him    to   bear   these 

*  Near  Fontainebleau. 

t  Leon  Boutheillier,  Count  de  Chavigny,  was  the  reputed  son  of 
Claude  Boutheillier,  Superintendent  of  Finance;  but  was  commonly 
reported  to  be  the  natural  child  of  the  Cardinal  Richelieu,  who  treated 
him  with  extraordinary  favor,  and  zealously  promoted  his  interests.  He 
was,  for  a  short  period,  secretary  of  state  under  Louis  XIII.,  and  sub- 
sequently minister  of  state,  and  a  member  of  the  council,  during  the 
Regency. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  97 

unhoped-for  tidings  to  the  king ;  and  to  request  him  at  the 
same  time,  on  so  happy  an  occasion,  to  grant  her  the 
liberation  of  Laporte. 

The  joy  of  Louis  equaled  his  astonishment ;  and  after 
having  conceded  the  pardon  of  her  faithful  servant,  he 
hastened  to  the  apartments  of  Anne  of  Austria  to  offer 
his  congratulations,  and  to  receive  her  own.  Richelieu 
was,  perhaps,  the  only  individual  throughout  France  who 
did  not  participate  in  the  general  rejoicing.  Much  as  he 
hated  Gaston,  he  hated  the  queen  still  more ;  and  after 
all  the  efforts  that  he  had  made  to  estrange  her  from  the 
king; — efforts,  moreover,  which  had  been  only  too  suc- 
cessful, for  the  minister  was  singularly  able  in  overlaying 
with  his  own  passions  the  heart  of  his  royal  but  subjugated 
master ;  to  which  fact  he  owed  much  of  his  greatness, 
I  for  the  secret  of  his  supremacy  lay  in  that  consummate, 
although  questionable  talent ; — after  all  these  efforts,  he 
saw  the  whole  superstructure  which  he  had  built  upon 
that  estrangement,  suddenly  crumble  into  dust  before 
these  unexpected  tidings ;  and  the  chagrin  which  he  felt, 
without  being  able  to  disclose  it,  so  affected  his  health  that 
he  became  ere  long  at  intervals  seriously  indisposed. 

That  he  did  not,  however,  yield  without  an  effort,  either 
to  his  annoyance,  or  its  results,  may  be  gathered  from  the 
memoirs  of  La  Grande  Mademoiselle;  who  states  that  she 
was  invited  to  St.  Germain  after  the  distrust  of  the  cardinal 
had  been  overcome  (he  having  shown  himself  unwilling 
that  any  one  in  the  interests  of  the  Duke  d'Anjou  should 
be  about  the  queen),  and  then  proceeds  thus  :  "  The  comt 
was  veiy  agreeable  at  that  time,  and  the  love  of  the  king 
for  Madame  d'Hautefort,  to  whom  he  endeavored  to  make 
himself  agreeable  by  the  entertainments  which  he  every 
day  gave  to  her,  contributed  greatly  to  make  it  so. 
Hunting  was  one  of  the  king's  greatest  pleasm-es ;  we 
often  went  with  him  ....  We  were  all  dressed  in  colors, 
mounted  on  handsome  hackneys  richly  caparisoned ;  and 
vol.    i. — E 


98  LOUIS     XIT.'AVD 

to  protect  us  from  the  sun,  wore  hats  covered  with  feathers. 
The  chase  was  always  directed  toward  the  neighborhood 
of  some  handsome  houses,  where  we  found  good  collations, 
and  on  our  return  the  king  seated  himself  in  my  coach 
between  Madame  d'Hautefort  and  me.  When  he  was 
in  a  good-humor  he  talked  to  us  very  agreeably  on  every 
subject.  He  permitted  us  at  that  time  to  speak  very 
freely  of  the  Cardinal  of  Richelieu,  and  as  a  sign  that  it 
did  not  displease  him,  he  spoke  of  him  in  the  same  way. 
As  soon  as  we  reached  home  we  went  to  the  queen's 
apartments  ....  The  king  was  sometimes  in  so  gallant 
a  humor,  that,  at  the  collations  which  he  gave  us  in  the 
country,  he  would  not  sit  down  to  table,  but  waited  upon 
nearly  all  the  party,  although  his  attention  was  only  in- 
tended for  one  person.  He  ate  afterward ;  and  did  not 
affect  to  have  more  politeness  for  Madame  d'Hautefort 
than  for  others,  so  fearful  was  he  that  his  gallantry  should 
be  remarked.  When  they  had  any  misunderstanding,  the 
amusements  were  suspended ;  and  if,  during  these  inter- 
vals, he  visited  the  queen,  he  did  not  speak  to  any  one,  and 
no  one  ventured  to  address  him ;  he  sat  in  a  comer,  where 
generally  he  yawned,  and  went  to  sleep.  It  was  a  melan- 
choly which  chilled  every  one;  and  while  it  lasted,  he 
passed  his  time  in  writing  down  all  that  he  had  said  to 
Madame  d'Hautefort,  and  all  that  she  had  answered;  a 
thing  so  true,  that  at  his  death  there  were  found  in  his 
desk  long  accounts  of  all  the  quarrels  that  he  had  had 
with  his  mistresses ;  to  whose  praise,  as  well  as  his  own, 
be  it  said,  that  he  had  never  loved  any  who  were  not  per- 
fectly virtuous."  * 

But  despite  all  these  festive  demonstrations,  the  queen 
was  far  from  tranquil.  The  health  of  Louis  was  declining 
from  day  to  day;  the  tomb  appeared  to  be  yawning  for 
both  him  and  his  minister ;  and  Anne  of  Austria  watched 
in  anxious  terror  the  progress  of  this  double  decay.  She 
*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  99 

knew  that  should  Richelieu  survive  his  sovereign  only 
six  months,  she  would  be  lost  if  childless ;  and  eager  to 
satisfy  herself,  in  advance,  of  the  fate  of  the  infant  to 
which  she  was  about  to  give  life,  she  accordingly  deter- 
mined, with  the  superstition  common  to  that  age,  to  cause 
its  horoscope  to  be  drawn  by  an  able  astrologer  at  the 
moment  of  its  birth.  That  she  should  bear  a  son  she  did 
not  suffer  herself  to  doubt ;  and  having  expressed  her 
wishes  to  the  king,  he,  in  his  turn,  confided  the  care  of  dis- 
covering the  required  astrologer  to  the  cardinal. 

Richelieu,  although  his  own  experience  might  have 
taught  him  that  human  will  has  more  power  over  human 
fate  than  the  stars  can  ever  claim,  was  no  less  credulous 
upon  the  subject  of  occult  lore  than  others  of  that  day  ;  and 
having  some  previous  knowledge  of  a  certain  seer,  named 
Campanella,  he  immediately  dispatched  a  messenger  to 
command  his  presence.  Campanella  had,  however,  left 
France ;  but  the  minister  succeeded  in  tracing  him  to  the 
dungeons  of  Milan,  where  he  was  awaiting  his  trial  as  a 
sorcerer,  having  been  seized  by  the  Italian  Inquisition, 
and  whence  he  had  little  difficulty  in  obtaining  his  release. 

Anne  of  Austria  was  sojourning  at  St.  Germain-en- 
Laye  when  her  hour  of  trial  came ;  where  she  occupied 
the  pavilion  of  Henry  IV.,  of  which  the  windows  opened 
upon  the  river.  The  public  excitement  was  so  great  that 
many  persons  who  could  not  procure  accommodation  at 
St.  Germain,  or  whose  private  affairs  detained  them  in 
Paris,  had,  as  the  period  of  the  queen's  accouchement 
approached,  stationed  messengers  upon  the  high-road  to 
the  capital,  in  order  to  have  the  earliest  intelligence  of 
the  result ;  while  every  avenue  to  the  palace  was  thronged 
with  grave  and  anxious  faces. 

Early  on  the  5th  of  September,  Louis  XIII.  was  sum- 
moned to  the  chamber  of  the  queen  ;  when  he  immediately 
commanded  the  presence  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  the 
Princess  de  Conde,  and  the  Countess  de  Soissons ;  but  he 


100  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

forbade  ingress  to  the  sick-chamber  to  every  other  person, 
except  Madame  de  Vendome,  to  whom  it  was  accorded 
as  a  personal  favor,  and  the  ladies  who  were  in  at- 
tendance upon  the  royal  invalid.  The  three  bishops  of 
Lisieux,  Meaux,  and  Beauvais,  took  their  station  in  an 
adjoining  room ;  and  in  the  one  opposite  were  assembled 
all  the  officers  of  state,  and  the  ladies  of  rank  who  had  the 
privilege  of  entrance. 

At  length  the  king  was  greeted  with  the  welcome  intel- 
ligence that  he  was  the  father  of  a  Dauphin ;  and  in  the 
excess  of  his  joy,  he  took  the  royal  infant  from  the  hands 
of  the  nurse,  and  approaching  the  window,  exhibited  him 
to  the  crowd,  exclaiming  as  he  did  so,  "  A  son  !  gentlemen, 
a  son !" 

The  satisfaction  of  the  spectators  broke  forth  in  a  loud 
cry  of  triumphant  delight ;  and  the  happy  monarch  forth- 
with carried  the  new-born  prince  into  the  apartment 
where  the  bishops  were  assembled  round  a  temporary 
altar,  putting  up  prayers  for  the  happy  issue  of  the 
queen's  deliverance ;  when  it  was  immediately  baptized 
by  the  Bishop  of  Meaux,  in  presence  of  all  the  great  digni- 
taries of  the  kingdom.  A  Te  Deum  was  then  chanted  in 
the  castle  chapel ;  after  which  the  king  wrote  an  autograph 
letter  to  the  corporation  of  Paris,  which  was  dispatched  on 
the  instant. 

The  rejoicings  which  took  place  throughout  the  capital 
exceeded  all  that  had  ever  before  been  witnessed;  and 
amid  these  the  Jesuits  were  conspicuous  in  their  demon- 
stration. The  foreign  ambassadors  vied  with  each  other 
alike  in  expense  and  invention,  and  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
people  was  at  its  height. 

The  cardinal,  who  was  in  Picardy,  wrote  to  congrat- 
ulate the  monarch,  and  to  suggest  that  the  Dauphin  should 
be  named  Theodosius,  or  God-given,  as  an  earnest  of  his 
future  glory;  he  also  dispatched  a  letter  of  felicitation  to 
the  queen,  but  it  was  cold  and  brief. 


THE     COURT     OP     FRANCE.  101 

Meanwhile  the  astrologer  Campanella  had  arrived  in 
France,  and  was  invited  to  proceed  with  his  task  without 
delay.  At  first  he  endeavored  to  excuse  himself,  aware 
of  the  danger  to  which  such  a  responsibility  must  expose 
him ;  but  as  his  excuses  were  not  admitted,  and  he  was 
commanded  to  speak  the  truth  fearlessly,  he  ultimately, 
after  the  usual  precautions,  announced  that  his  combina- 
tions had  informed  him  that  "  the  infant  would  be  as 
luxurious  as  Henry  IV.,  and  of  conspicuous  haughtiness. 
That  his  reign  would  be  long  and  laborious,  although  not 
without  a  certain  happiness ;  but  that  his  end  would  be 
miserable ;  and  entail  both  religious  and  political  con- 
fusion upon  the  kingdom."  * 

In  the  month  of  July  following,  Sforza,  the  vice-legate 
of  Avignon,  and  extraordinary  nuncio  of  the  Pope,  arrived 
at  St.  Germain,  to  present  to  the  queen  the  swaddling- 
clothes  blessed  by  His  Holiness,  which  he  habitually  sent 
to  the  Dauphins  of  France,  in  recognition  of  those  princes 
as  the  elder  sons  of  the  church ;  and  to  bless  in  his  name 
both  the  august  mother  and  her  child.  These  garments, 
dazzling  with  gold  and  silver,  were  inclosed  in  a  couple 
of  chests  of  red  velvet,  which  were  opened  in  the  presence 
of  the  king  and  queen.t 

At  the  birth  of  Louis  XIV.,  although  the  court  vied 
with  each  other  in  lavish  and  idle  expenditure,  their 
monarch  was  in  receipt  only  of  an  income  of  a  hundred 

*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 

t  Memoires  de  Madame  de  Motteville. — Frances  Bertaut,  Lady  of 
Motteviile,  was  the  daughter  of  a  gentleman  of  the  king's  chamber. 
Placed  about  the  person  of  Anne  of  Austria,  and  dismissed  by  the  Car 
dinal  de  Richelieu,  she  married,  in  1G39,  Nicolas  Langlois,  Lord  of 
Motteville,  First  President  of  the  Chamber  of  Accounts  at  Rouen,  who 
died  two  years  afterward.  Recalled  to  court  in  1644,  she  never  again 
quitted  her  royal  mistress;  and  died  in  1689.  She  left  a  work  entitled 
"  Memoires  pour  servir  a  l'Histoire  d'Anne  d'Autriche,"  in  six  vols.,  in 
l2mo.  They  are  very  curious,  and  full  of  authentic  details  of  the  court 
at  that  period. 


102  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

millions  of  livres,  according-  to  the  value  of  money  in  the 
present  day ;  and  France  had  not  yet  attained  any  prom- 
inent rank  among  the  European  nations.  Internally  she 
was  rent  by  faction,  and  her  external  strength  was  almost 
negative.  Even  the  capital,  and  the  great  highways 
through  the  country,  were  in  a  state  of  neglect  difficult 
to  comprehend,  the  first  individuals  in  the  state  having  so 
much  interest  in  the  improvement  of  both  the  one  and 
the  other.  The  roads  were  scarcely  passable,  under  no 
government  authority,  and  infested  by  robbers ;  while  the 
streets,  narrow,  ill-paved,  and  choked  with  mud  and  refuse 
of  the  foulest  description,  were,  immediately  after  night- 
fall, crowded  with  thieves,  pickpockets,  assassins,  and  all 
the  filth  of  a  great  capital ;  whose  depredations  were 
earned  on  to  an  immense  extent,  and  with  an  audacity 
which  received  little  check  from  a  police  that  did  not 
amount  to  fifty  men,  although  it  was  intrusted  with  the 
whole  safety  of  the  city. 

Socially,  the  position  of  France  was  little  better.  The 
heads  of  the  first  nobles  of  the  land  had  fallen,  or  been 
bowed  by  disgrace  and  imprisonment.  Dueling  had  re- 
commenced with  a  resolution  which  more  than  ever  defied 
the  power  of  the  monarch ;  while  the  intellectual  progress 
of  the  public  tribunals  is  sufficiently  marked  by  the  fact, 
that  Leonora  Galiga'i  had  been  burned  as  a  witch  in  1617, 
and  Urbain  Grandier  as  a  sorcerer  in  1634.* 

Literature  and  morals  were  alike  at  a  deplorably  low 
ebb.  England,  Italy,  and  Spain  had  each  given  birth  to 
more  than  one  gigantic  talent,  while  France  was  as  yet  only 

*  Urbain  Grandier  was  the  curate  and  prebendary  of  Saint-Pierre 
of  Loudun.  Some  Ursuline  nuns  of  that  place,  who  were  considered 
to  be  possessed,  accused  him,  their  confessor,  of  magic ;  and  the  Coun- 
cilor Laubardemont,  and  the  twelve  judges  appointed  to  preside  at  his 
trial,  condemned  him  upon  their  testimony.  He  was  burned  alive  on 
the  18th  of  August,  1634.  His  condemnation  was  attributed  to  the 
hatred  of  Richelieu,  against  whom  a  libel  had  just  appeared,  entitled 
The  Shoemaker's  Wife  of  Loudun,  which  was  attributed  to  Grandier. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  103 

the  nursery  of  that  genius,  which  was  to  form  so  bright 
a  galaxy  in  the  succeeding  reign.  The  two  celebrated 
female  wits  of  the  day  were  Mademoiselle  de  Scudery,*  and 
Ninon  de  l'Enclos ;  while  Madame  de  Sevigne,  who  was  to 
found  an  epistolary  school  destined  to  endure  as  long  as 
the  language  in  which  she  wrote,  had  just  attained  her 
twelfth  year. 

Meanwhile,  although  the  queen  still  remained  without 
political  influence,  she  had  acquired  considerably  more 
power  over  the  affections  of  Louis.  The  birth  of  a  Dau- 
phin had  been  a  source  of  gratification  to  the  king,  which 
was  naturally  calculated  to  increase  his  regard  for  the 
mother.  He  had,  moreover,  as  we  have  already  stated, 
attached  himself,  in  his  peculiar  manner,  to  Mademoiselle 
d'Hautefort,  one  of  the  ladies  of  the  queen's  household, 
whose  wit  and  beauty  were  eminently  calculated  to  awaken 
his  lethargic  sensibilities ;  but  his  aversion  to  Richelieu, 
although  it  was  craftily  concealed,  increased  from  day  to 
day,  and  did  not  escape  the  observation  of  the  minister ; 
who  was,  however,  indifferent  to  the  fact,  from  his  having 
surrounded  his  royal  master  with  his  own  creatures,  who 
did  not  fail  to  acquaint  him  with  every  incident  which 
could  be  profitable  to  his  interests.  Throughout  the  whole 
of  his  household  Louis  possessed  but  three  personal  friends ; 
and  of  the  consolation  which  he  found  in  the  companionship 
of  Mademoiselle  d'Hautefort  he  was  eventually  deprived 
by  the  cardinal ;  who  feared  that  her  influence  would  be 
exerted  in  favor  of  the  queen,  like  that  of  her  predecessor, 
Louise  de  la  Fayette,  from  the  great  affection  which  Anne 
of  Austria  had  always  displayed  toward  her. 

The  exiled  favorite  was,  however,  replaced  by  Richelieu 
in  the  person  of  M.  de  Cinq-Mars,t  whom  he  introduced  to 

*  Madelaine  de  Scudery  was  born  at  Havre,  in  1601. 

t  Henry  Coiffier,  says  Ruze  d'Effiat,  Marquis  de  Cinq-Mars,  the  sec- 
ond son  of  Antoine  Coiffier,  Marquis  d'Effiat,  and  Marshal  of  France, 
owed  his  fortune  to  Cardinal  Richelieu,  who  was  the  intimate  friend 


104  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

the  notice  and  favor  of  the  king,  and  who  became,  ere 
long,  the  object  of  his  entire  regard.  It  is  not  our  pur- 
pose to  follow  up  circumstantially  the  career  of  this  unfor- 
tunate young  nobleman,  which  was  one  of  an  interest  too 
absorbing  to  remain  in  obscurity.  Even  in  the  sober  pages 
of  history,  it  assumes  the  semblance  of  romance ;  and  the 
details  which  history  did  not  condescend  to  supply  have 
since  been  given  to  the  world  with  an  industry  of  research, 
and  accuracy  of  narration  beyond  all  praise,  in  the  volumes 
of  the  Count  Alfred  de  Vigny,  which  bear  his  name. 

During  the  period  of  Cinq-Mars's  first  favor,  the  queen 
gave  birth  to  a  second  son,  who  took  the  title  of  Duke 
d'Anjou;  this  prince  saw  the  light  on  the  21st  of  Septem- 
ber, 1640  ;  and  in  1642,  Cinq-Mars  and  his  friend  De 
Thou*  perished  upon  the  scaffold. 

In  February,  1642,  the  king  quitted  Paris  for  Roussillon, 
leaving  the  queen  and  her  two  children  at  St.  Germain-en- 
Laye;  the  princes  being  under  the  especial  charge  of  Ma- 

of  his  father,  and  who  placed  him  about  Louis  XIII.,  of  whom  he  be- 
came the  favorite,  and  who  made  him  successively  Captain  of  the  Royal 
Guard,  Grand  Master  of  the  King's  Wardrobe  (1637),  and,  two  years 
afterward,  Grand  Ecpierry  of  France.  Irritated  by  the  bearing  of 
Richelieu,  Cinq-Mars  excited  Gaston,  Duke  d'Orleans,  to  revolt,  and 
seduced  the  Duke  de  Bouillon  to  his  interests.  They  dispatched  an 
emissary  to  Spain,  to  conclude  a  treaty,  which  was  to  admit  the  Span- 
ish forces  into  France;  but  the  king,  who  went  in  person,  in  1642,  to 
conquer  Roussillon,  was  accompanied  by  Cinq-Mars,  while  the  cardinal 
remained  sick  at  Tarascon ;  when  the  latter,  having  discovered  the  in- 
trigue, immediately  informed  the  king,  who  caused  Cinq-Mars  to  be 
arrested  at  Narbonne.  He  lost  his  head  at  Lyons,  in  the  same  year ; 
and  was  executed,  in  company  with  his  friend  and  confidant,  De  Thou. 
*  Francis-Augustus  de  Thou  was  born  in  1607.  While  still  a  youth, 
he  was  appointed  Grand  Master  of  the  King's  Library.  He  applied  to 
be  made  military  superintendent ;  and  the  refusal  of  the  cardinal  threw 
him  into  the  ranks  of  the  opposition.  He  then  endeavored  to  further 
his  fortune  by  political  intrigues ;  adopted  the  profession  of  arms,  and 
attached  himself  to  the  court,  although  he  did  not  hold  office ;  but  was 
finally  involved,  by  his  affection  for  Cinq-Mars,  in  the  conspiracy  against 
Richelieu,  for  which  they  both  suffered  death. 


THE     COURT     OV     FRANCE.  105 

dame  de  L  ansae  their  governess ;  while  for  all  protection 
they  had  only  one  company  of  the  French  guards,  com- 
manded by  Captain  Montigni.  These  two  persons  had 
each  a  separate  order:  that  of  Madame  de  Lansac  was, 
that  in  case  Monsieur,  who  lived  in  Paris,  should  visit  the 
queen,  she  should  desire  the  officers  of  the  household  to 
remain  close  to  the  Dauphin,  and  not  to  suffer  Monsieur  to 
enter,  if  he  came  attended  by  more  than  three  persons.  As 
to  Montigni,  the  king  gave  him  half  of  a  gold  coin,  of  which 
he  retained  the  other  moiety,  with  an  express  command  that 
he  should  not  abandon  the  persons  of  the  princes ;  and,  in  the 
event  of  his  receiving  an  order  to  remove  them,  or  to  trans- 
fer them  to  other  hands,  he  was  forbidden  to  obey,  even 
should  the  command  be  in  the  handwriting  of  His  Majesty, 
if  he  did  not  at  the  same  time  receive  the  other  half  of  the 
broken  coin. 

The  Prince  de  Conde  commanded  in  Paris  during  the 
absence  of  the  king ;  and  during  that  period  married  his 
daughter,  Mademoiselle  de  Bourbon,  to  the  Duke  de 
Longueville,  an  alliance  which  proved  most  melancholy 
for  the  lady ;  the  duke  being  already  in  the  decline  of  life, 
while  his  bride  was  young  and  exquisitely  beautiful.* 

Shortly  afterward,  the  court  went  into  mourning  for 
Marie  de  Medicis,  who  had  died  at  Cologne  in  the  house 
of  her  painter,  Rubens,  attended  by  only  one  faithful  wait- 
ing-woman, and  depending  almost  for  her  nourishment  on 
the  generous  compassion  of  the  Elector.  At  Paris  she 
appeared  to  have  become  utterly  forgotten,  save  by  a  few 
of  her  most  attached  friends.  The  cardinal  was  not,  how- 
ever, destined  long  to  enjoy  the  several  triumphs  which  he 
had  achieved.  He  returned  in  such  impaired  health  from 
*  Henry,  second  Duke  de  Longueville,  was  plenipotentiary  at  the 
Congress  of  Munster,  in  1643.  He  was  the  son  of  Henry,  the  first 
duke,  who  loved  the  beautiful  Gubrielle  d'Estrec,  and  resigned  her  to 
Henry  IV.  Gabrielle  having  injured  him  in  the  king's  mind,  he  threw 
himself  into  the  opposite  party,  and  was  killed  at  the  siege  of  Dourlens, 
in  1505. 


106  LOUIS  XIV.  AND  THE  COURT  OF  FRANCE. 

Roussillon,*  that  he  was  compelled  to  halt  several  days  at 
Narbonne,  and  during  his  sojourn  in  that  town  was  not 
expected  to  survive.  Finally,  however,  he  arrived  in  Paris 
in  a  litter  borne  by  four-and-twenty  men ;  but  on  expe- 
riencing some  slight  symptoms  of  amendment,  he  compelled 
Juif,  his  surgeon,  to  close  the  abscess  under  which  he  had 
been  suffering,  nor  could  the  remonstrances  of  that  skillful 
practitioner  dissuade  him  from  his  purpose ;  and  it  is  be- 
lieved that  a  quarrel  which  took  place  a  short  time  subse- 
quently between  the  king  and  himself,  on  the  subject  of 
some  courtiers  whom  he  considered  as  his  personal  ene- 
mies, and  whom  Louis  had  refused  to  dismiss  from  his  ser- 
vice, tended  to  hasten  his  death.  Wearied  by  his  expostu- 
lations, the  monarch  at  length  consented  to  remove  three 
of  the  number,  and  to  consign  them  to  the  Bastille,  but  re- 
fused to  appoint  their  successors  ;  and  this  resistance  exas- 
perated the  cardinal,  who  saw  that  his  decease  was  antici- 
pated ;  and  that,  when  it  had  taken  place,  his  adversaries 
would  at  once  be  reinstated  in  their  respective  employ. 
He  consequently  extended  his  persecution  to  M.  de  Tre- 
ville,  their  colleague,  whom  he  had  hitherto  spared,  and 
whom  Louis  dismissed  in  his  turn ;  but  with  an  assurance 
that  he  might  still  calculate  upon  his  favor;  and  a  recom- 
mendation that  he  should  go  and  serve  for  the  present  in 
Italy,  as  he  would  not  long  be  absent  from  France. 

*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Marriage  of  Mademoiselle  de  Breze — Increased  Illness  of  the  Cardinal 
— Indifference  of  Louis  XIII. — Death  of  the  Cardinal — Ancient  and 
Modern  Biographers — Liberation  of  State  Prisoners — Reconciliation 
of  the  King  and  the  Duke  d'Orleans — Arrival  of  the  Remains  of  Marie 
de  Medicis — Illness  of  Louis  XIII. — Recognition  of  Madame — Chris- 
tening of  the  Dauphin — Death  of  Louis  XIII. — Anne  of  Austria  Re- 
gent— The  new  Ministry — The  Duke  d'Orleans  Lieutenant-General 
of  the  Kingdom — The  Duke  de  Beaufort — The  Three  Days — "  The 
Queen  is  so  good" — Louis  XIV.  and  the  State  Companies — Anne  of 
Austria  and  Voiture — The  Improvisation — The  Count  de  Guiehe  and 
his  Governess — Piety  of  Anne  of  Austria — Return  of  Madame  de 
Chevreuse — Her  Intrigues — Coldness  of  the  Queen-Regent — Diplo- 
macy of  Mazarin — The  Duke  de  Beaufort  a  bad  Conspirator — Escape 
of  Mazarin — Arrest  of  the  Duke  de  Beaufort — Renewed  Exile  of 
Madame  de  Chevreuse — The  Duke  d'Enghien — The  Challenge — 
Death  of  Coligny — Mourning  Balls. 

In  the  course  of  the  winter  of  1642,  the  cardinal  had  the 
gratification  of  marrying  another  of  his  nieces,  Mademoi- 
selle de  Breze,  to  the  Duke  d'Enghien,  son  of  the  Prince 
de  Conde  ;   and  this  alliance,  which  must  greatly  have  sur- 


108  L  O  L'  I  S     XIV.     AND 

passed  ihe  ambition  of  the  cardinal,  was  formed  at  the  so- 
licitation of  the  prince  himself,  who  exerted  as  much  energy 
to  secure  it,  as  though  he  had  been  seeking  to  marry  his 
son  with  a  sovereign  princess.  Moreover,  to  prove  how 
sincerely  he  desired  to  make  one  common  interest  with  the 
minister,  he  entreated  him  at  the  same  time  to  unite  Made- 
moiselle de  Bourbon  to  the  Mai'quis  de  Breze  :  Richelieu 
replied,  however,  that  although  he  was  willing  to  give  young 
ladies  to  princes,  he  would  not  give  princesses  to  men  of 
inferior  rank.* 

On  the  30th  of  November,  1643,  the  illness  of  the  minis- 
ter had  so  much  increased  that  he  was  twice  bled ;  and  on 
the  1st  of  December,  he  began  to  spit  blood,  and  to  breathe 
with  difficulty.  He  was  again  bled  in  the  night,  but  ex- 
perienced no  relief;  and  his  palace  was  filled  with  his  near 
relatives  and  friends,  anxiously  awaiting  the  issue.  On  the 
following  day  the  king  visited  the  sick-chamber,  and  as  he 
drew  near  the  bed,  Richelieu  raised  himself  to  a  sitting 
posture  ;  during  the  interview  he  expressed  his  satisfaction 
that  he  had  honestly  and  ably  done  his  duty  to  the  state  ; 
entreated  the  king,  in  memory  of  his  past  services,  to  pro- 
tect his  family ;  and  finally  recommended,  as  his  successors 
in  the  ministry,  Des  Noyers,t  De  Chavigny,  and  Mazarin. 
Louis  readily  replied  that  his  recommendation  should  be 
sacred ;  and  added  some  commonplace  remark,  intended 
to  express  that  he  trusted  their  services  would  not  be  soon 
required.  Then,  affecting  to  believe  that  a  more  lengthy 
conversation  might  prejudice  the  invalid,  he  left  the  room  ; 
but  he  was  so  utterly  unimpressed  by  the  scene  from  which 
he  had  just  escaped,  that  as  he  traversed  the  gallery  of  the 
famous  palace  upon  which  Richelieu  had  lavished  so  many 
millions,  and  which  he  had,  in  his  will,  bequeathed  to  the 
dauphin,  his  eye  glanced  over  the  costly  paintings  by  which 
it  was  decorated  with  evident  delight ;  and  before  he  had 
traversed  its  limits,  he  once  or  twice  indulged  in  a  fit  of 

*  Mem.  de  Mdlle.  de  Montpensier.  |  Secretary  of  Stnte. 


THE     COURT     OK     FRANCE.  109 

laughter,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  was  attended  hy 
the  two  favorite  friends  of  the  cardinal,  the  Marshal  de 
Breze  and  the  Count  d'Harcourt,*  who  reconducted  him 
to  the  Louvre. 

The  king  had  no  sooner  withdrawn  than  Richelieu  sum- 
moned the  Duchess  d'Aiguillon  to  his  side,  and  gave  her 
some  secret  instructions,  at  whose  conclusion  she  left  the 
room  in  tears.  He  then  insisted  upon  knowing  from  his 
physicians  how  long  a  time  he  was  still  likely  to  survive, 
but  finding  them  un willing  to  tell  the  truth,  he  sent  for 
Chirac,  who  was  the  private  physician  of  the  king ;  and 
having  expressed  to  him  his  wish  that  he  would  be  perfect- 
ly frank,  was  informed  that  he  could  not,  in  all  probability, 
exist  more  than  four-and-twenty  hours  longer;  when,  having 
thanked  his  informant,  he  desired  to  be  left  alone,  and  the 
chamber  was  immediately  cleared  of  all  his  attendants. 
In  the  evening  his  fever  augmented,  and  he  was  again 
twice  bled.  At  midnight  he  demanded  the  Holy  Viaticum, 
which  was  brought  to  him  by  the  curate  of  St.  Eustache, 
who  was  placing  it  upon  a  table  which  had  previously  been 
prepared  for  that  purpose,  when  the  cardinal  said,  sol- 
emnly :  "  Here  is  my  judge  by  whom  I  shall  soon  be 
judged;  and  I  sincerely  implore  him  to  pronounce  my 
condemnation,  if  I  have  ever  had  any  other  intention  save 
the  welfare  of  religion  and  of  the  state."  t 

*  Henry  de  Lorraine,  Count  d'Harcourt,  son  of  Charles  de  Lorraine, 
Duke  d'Elbeuf,  was  born  in  1600.  He  distinguished  himself  in  1620, 
at  the  siege  of  Prague,  and  afterward  at  those  of  Montauban,  Saint-Jean 
d'Angely,  and  La  Rochelle.  Louis  XIII.  honored  him,  in  1633,  with 
the  collar  of  his  order.  He  retook,  in  1637,  the  islands  of  Lerins  from 
the  Spaniards,  whom  he  beat  at  Guiers  in  1639,  at  Casal  and  the  siege 
of  Turin  in  1640,  and  at  the  taking  of  Coni  in  1641.  In  1642,  he  was 
appointed  Governor  of  Guyenne ;  in  1643,  Grand  Equerry  of  France, 
and  ambassador  to  England;  aud  in  1615,  Viceroy  of  Catalonia,  where 
he  beat  the  Spaniards  on  several  occasions.  Near  the  end  of  his  life 
he  was  made  Governor  of  Anjou,  and  died  in  1666. 

*  History  1 1'  France. 


HO  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

On  the  evening  of  the  3d  December,  the  queen  having 
sent  to  inquire  after  his  health,  he  said  to  her  messenger : 
"  I  am  very  ill ;  and  tell  her  majesty  that  if,  in  the  course 
of  my  life,  she  has  considered  that  I  have  given  her  cause 
of  complaint,  I  most  humbly  beg  her  to  pardon  me." 

The  royal  messenger  had  scarcely  left  the  room,  when 
the  cardinal  was  seized  with  a  giddiness,  his  head  fell  back 
upon  the  pillow,  and  he  expired. 

Thus  died,  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight  years,  in  the  gorgeous 
palace  which  he  had  himself  erected,  Armand  Jean-Duples- 
sis,  Cardinal  de  Richelieu  ;  and  it  is  curious  to  contrast,  as  a 
modern  author  has  enabled  us  to  do,  the  judgment  passed 
upon  him  by  his  cotemporaries,  and  that  which  has  been 
formed  by  posterity. 

"The  cardinal,"  says  one  of  the  former,  "had  in  him 
much  good  and  much  evil.  He  had  intellect,  but  it  was  of 
a  common  order ;  he  was  fond  of  beautiful  objects,  without 
understanding  them ;  and  never  possessed  any  delicacy  of 
discernment  for  the  productions  of  mind.  He  was  fearfully 
jealous  of  all  who  had  acquired  a  reputation.  Great  men, 
whatever  might  be  their  profession,  were  his  enemies ;  and 
all  those  who  clashed  with  him  have  felt  die  weight  of  his 
vengeance.  Every  one  whose  life  was  beyond  his  reach 
has  passed  it  in  banishment.  There  have  been  several  con- 
spiracies formed  during  his  administration  to  destroy  him ; 
his  master  himself  has  entered  into  some  of  them  ;  and,  nev- 
ertheless, by  an  excess  of  good  fortune,  he  has  triumphed 
over  envy  and  his  enemies,  and  has  left  the  king  himself  on 
the  eve  of  death.  Finally,  he  has  been  seen  on  his  bed  of 
state,  wept  by  few,  despised  by  many,  and  gazed  upon  by 
the  mob  in  such  crowds,  that  it  was  difficult,  during  a  whole 
day,  to  approach  the  cardinal-palace."* 

Here,  three  centuries  later,  is  the  second  resvme  drawn 
of  his  career.  "  The  Cardinal  de  Richelieu,  placed  at  nearly 
equal  distance  between  Louis  XL,  whose  aim  was  to  abol- 
*  Montresor. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  Ill 

ish  feudality,  and  the  national  convention,  whose  attempt 
was  to  crush  aristocracy,  appeared  to  have,  like  them,  re- 
ceived a  mission  of  blood  from  heaven.  The  high  nobility, 
repulsed  under  Louis  XIII.  and  Francis  I.,  almost  entirely 
succumbed  under  Richelieu ;  preparing,  by  its  overthrow, 
the  calm,  unitarian,  and  despotic  reign  of  Louis  XIV.,  who 
looked  around  him  in  vain  for  a  great  noble,  and  found  only 
courtiers.  The  eternal  rebellion  which,  for  nearly  two 
centuries,  agitated  France,  almost  entirely  disappeared  un- 
der the  ministry,  we  were  about  to  say  under  the  reign, 
of  Richelieu.  The  Guises,  who  had  touched  with  their 
hand  the  scepter  of  Henry  III. ;  the  Condes,  who  had 
placed  their  foot  on  the  steps  of  the  throne  of  Henry  IV.  ; 
and  Gaston,  who  had  tried  upon  his  brow  the  crown  of 
Louis  XIII. ;  all  returned,  at  the  voice  of  the  minister,  if 
not  into  nothingness,  at  least  into  impotency.  All  who 
straggled  against  the  iron  will  inclosed  in  that  feeble 
body,  were  broken  like  glass.  One  day  Louis  XIII., 
overcome  by  the  prayers  of  his  mother,  promised  to  the 
jealous  and  vindictive  Florentine  the  disgrace  of  the  min- 
ister. A  council  was  accordingly  assembled,  consisting 
of  Marillac,*  the  Duke  de  Guise,t  and  the  Marshal  de 
Bassompierre.  Mai'illac  proposed  to  assassinate  Riche- 
lieu ;  De  Guise  to  exile  him ;  and  Bassompierre  to  make 
him  a  state  prisoner;   and  each  suffered  the  fate  to  which 

*  Louis  de  Marillac  was  gentleman-in-waiting  to  Henry  IV.,  and 
was,  in  1629,  appointed  Marshal  of  France.  lie  owed  his  fortune  to 
Richelieu,  whom  he  hoped  to  overthrow  ;  and  it  is  said  that  he  offered 
to  take  his  life  with  his  own  hand.  Richelieu,  feigning  to  put  faith  in 
the  reality  of  this  conspiracy,  which,  however,  was  never  proved, 
caused  the  marshal  to  be  arrested  in  the  midst  of  his  troops  in  Italy, 
and  put  him  upon  his  trial,  which  lasted  for  two  years.  Finally, 
Marillac  lost  his  head  in  the  Place  de  Greve,  on  the  10th  of  May, 
1632. 

t  Henry,  Duke  de  Guise,  son  of  Charles  de  Guise,  and  grandson  of 
the  Balafri,  endeavored  to  effect  a  revolution  in  his  favor  in  Naples, 
and  died  in  1664,  without  posterity.     He  was  the  last  of  his  race. 


112  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

he  condemned  the  cardinal.  .  Bassompierre*  was  shut  up 
in  the  Bastille ;  the  Duke  de  Guise  was  driven  from 
France  ;  the  head  of  Marillac  fell  on  the  scaffold ;  and 
Marie  de  Medicis,  who  had  solicited  his  disgrace,  dis- 
graced in  her  turn,  went  to  die  at  Cologne,  a  death  at 
once  lingering  and  miserable.  And  all  this  struggle 
which  Richelieu  sustained,  be  it  well  understood,  he  did 
not  sustain  for  his  own  sake,  but  for  that  of  France ;  all 
the  enemies  against  whom  he  combated,  were  not  his 
enemies  only,  but  those  of  the  kingdom.  If  he  clung  tena- 
ciously to  the  side  of  a  king  whom  he  compelled  to  live  a 
melancholy,  unhappy,  and  isolated  life,  whom  he  deprived 
successively  of  his  friends,  of  his  mistresses,  and  of  his 
family,  as  a  tree  is  stripped  of  its  leaves,  of  its  branches, 
and  of  its  bark,  it  was  because  friends,  mistresses,  and 
family  exhausted  the  sap  of  the  expiring  royalty  which 
had  need  of  all  its  egotism  to  prevent  it  from  perishing. 
For  it  was  not  only  intestinal  struggles,  there  was  also  a 
foreign  war  which  had  connected  itself  fatally  with  them. 
All  those  great  nobles  whom  he  decimated,  all  those 
princes  of  the  blood  whom  he  exiled,  all  those  royal  bas- 
tards whom  he  imprisoned,  were  inviting  foreigners  into 
France  ;  and  these  foreigners  answering  eagerly  to  the 
summons,  were  entering  the  country  on  three  different 
sides ;  the  English  by  Guienne,  the  Spanish  by  Roussillon, 
and  the  Imperialists  by  Artois.  He  repulsed  the  English 
by  driving  them  from  the  island  of  Re,  and  besieging  La 
Rochelle ;    the  Impei-ialists  by  detaching  Bavaria  from  its 

*  Marshal  Francis  de  Bassompierre  was  born  in  1579,  and  died  in 
1646.  He  was  the  friend  and  one  of  the  favorites  of  Henry  IV.,  who 
appointed  him  Captain-General  of  the  Swiss  and  Grisons.  Made  Mar- 
shal of  France  in  1C05,  he  exercised  great  power  over  Marie  de  Medicis 
and  Louis  XIII.  Richelieu,  to  whom  he  was  obnoxious,  caused  him  to 
be  imprisoned  in  the  Bastille,  in  1631 ;  and  he  remained  there  twelve 
years.  A  clever  diplomatist,  a  brave  and  judicious  general,  and  a  gal 
lant  courtier,  he  distinguished  himself  in  several  sieges,  and  left  behind 
him  the  Memoirs  of  his  Life. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  113 

alliance,  by  suspending  their  treaty  with  Denmark,  and 
by  sowing  dissension  in  the  Catholic  league  of  Germany; 
and  the  Spanish  by  creating  beside  them  the  new  kingdom 
of  Portugal,  of  which  Philip  II.  had  made  a  province,  and 
of  which  the  Duke  of  Braganza  remade  a  state.  His 
measures  were  crafty  or  cruel,  undoubtedly,  but  the  re- 
sult was  great.  Chalais  fell,  but  Chalais  had  conspired 
with  Lorraine  and  Spain ; — Montmorency  fell,  but  Mont- 
morency had  entered  France  with  arms  in  his  hand ; — 
Cinq-Mars  fell,  but  Cinq-Mars  had  invited  foreigners  into 
the  kingdom.  Perhaps,  without  all  these  struggles,  the 
vast  plan,  since  resumed  by  Louis  XIV.  and  by  Napoleon, 
might  have  succeeded.  He  coveted  the  Low  Countries 
as  far  as  Antwerp  and  Malines ;  he  dreamed  of  a  method 
of  wrenching  Franche-Comte  from  Spain ;  he  reunited 
Roussillon  to  France.  Born  to  be  a  simple  priest,  he 
became,  by  the  sole  power  of  his  genius,  not  only  a  great 
politician,  but  also  a  great  general ;  and  when  La  Ro- 
chelle  fell  before  the  measures  to  which  Schomberg,  Mar- 
shal Bassompierre,  and  the  Duke  d'Angouleme  were  com- 
pelled to  bow,  he  said  to  the  king : — "  Sire,  I  am  no 
prophet,  but  I  assure  your  majesty  that,  if  you  will  now 
condescend  to  act  as  I  advise,  you  will  pacificate  Italy  in 
the  month  of  May,  subjugate  the  Huguenots  of  Languedoc 
in  the  month  of  July,  and  be  on  your  return  in  the  month 
of  August."  And  each  of  these  prophecies  was  accom- 
plished in  its  time  and  place,  in  such  wise  that,  from  that 
moment,  Louis  XIII.  vowed  to  follow  forever  thence- 
forward the  counsels  of  Richelieu,  by  which  he  had  so 
well  profited  in  the  past.  Finally  he  died,  as  Montes- 
quieu asserts,  after  having  made  his  monarch  enact  the 
second  character  in  the  monarchy,  but  the  first  in  Europe  ; 
after  having  abased  the  king,  but  after  having  made  the 
reign  illustrious;  after  having,  finally,  mowed  down  re- 
bellion so  close  to  the  soil,  that  the  descendants  of  those 
who    had    composed    the    league,    could    only    form    the 


114  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

Fronde ;  as  after  the  reign  of  Napoleon,  the  successors 
of  the  Vendee  of  '93,  could  only  execute  the  Vendee 
of  1832.* 

Such  are  the  extreme  and  conflicting  judgments  which 
have  been  passed  upon  Richelieu.  The  truth,  in  all 
probability,  lies  between  them. 

The  death  of  the  cardinal  opened  the  gates  of  the 
Bastille  to  many  noble  names.  The  king,  who  exhibited 
the  greatest  indifference  at  the  death  of  his  minister,  at 
once  restored  to  their  commissions  Treville,  Des  Essarts, 
La  Salle,  and  Tilladet  ;t  called  Mazarin  to  the  council ; 
and  placed  such  unlimited  confidence  in  M.  des  Noyers, 
that  he  would  not  suffer  any  public  business  to  be  trans- 
acted in  his  absence. 

The  latter  did  not,  however,  long  retain  his  office ;  for  his 
coadjutors,  having  always  been  jealous  of  his  favor  with 
the  cardinal,  at  once  conspired  to  effect  his  ruin ;  while 
Des  Noyers  on  his  side,  taking  umbrage  at  some  annoyance 
to  which  they  had  gratuitously  subjected  him,  demanded 
his  dismissal  of  the  king,  by  whom  it  was  at  once  accorded. 
Cardinal  Mazarin  replaced  him  by  M.  le  Tellier,  super- 
intendent of  the  army  of  Piedmont,  whence  he  was  sum- 
moned express  to  be  appointed  Secretary  of  State.J 

*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 

t  They  were  captains  in  the  guard  of  Musketeers.  The  latter  force 
originated  in  1600,  when  Henry  IV.  organized,  as  his  personal  guard, 
a  company  of  young  men  of  birth,  who  were  called  the  king's  carbines, 
because  they  were  armed  with  that  weapon.  In  1622,  Louis  exchanged 
it  for  the  musket,  whence  the  company  changed  their  title  to  that  of 
Musketeers.  They  were  disbanded  in  1646,  and  reestablished  in  1657. 
A  second  company  was  raised  in  1661.  The  first  bore  the  name  of 
Gray  Musketeers,  from  the  color  of  their  horses,  which  were  all  dap- 
pled gray;  and  the  second  that  of  Black  Musketeers,  from  a  similar 
cause.  During  peace,  the  Musketeers  attended  the  king  in  his  hunts ; 
during  war,  they  fought  both  mounted  and  dismounted.  Reorganized 
in  1775,  reestablished  in  1789,  suppressed  in  1791,  they  were  again 
formed  in  1814,  and  definitively  disbanded  in  1815. 

X  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  115 

Shortly  afterward  the  Marshal  de  Vitry,  the  Count  de 
Cramail,  and  the  Marshal  de  Bassompierre,  were  also 
liberated  ;  and  the  latter,  who  had  been  "  embastillised," 
for  twelve  years,  was  bewildered  by  the  revolutions  which 
had  taken  place  in  that  fashion  of  which  he  was  once  the 
leader,  and  that  Paris  to  whom  his  name  had  formerly 
been  as  a  "  household  word."  The  great  number  of 
equipages  contained  in  the  capital  especially  astonished 
him ;  while  as  to  the  men  and  horses,  he  declared  that  he 
could  scarcely  recognize  either,  the  men  having  no  beard, 
and  the  horses  no  manes  and  tails. 

Next  succeeded  the  reconciliation  of  the  king  and  Mon- 
sieur, which  had  awaited  the  death  of  Richelieu  for  its 
completion  ;  and  the  egotistical  and  unstable  prince  soon 
forgot,  in  his  own  renewed  security,  the  fate  of  the  gallant 
Cinq-Mars  and  De  Thou,  who  had  lost  their  heads  in  his 
service.  It  may  be  hoped,  however,  that  it  was  partly 
owing  to  his  influence,  that  the  king  at  last  remembered, 
at  the  eleventh  hour,  that  his  mother  had  died  in  neglect 
and  penury  in  a  foreign  land ;  for  about  this  time  he  de- 
cided upon  fulfilling  her  dying  desire  to  be  interred  at 
St.  Denis,  a  privilege  which  the  hatred  of  Richelieu  had 
refused  to  concede  to  her,  and,  accordingly,  he  sent  to  re- 
claim her  body,  which  still  remained  in  the  chamber  where 
she  expired.  One  of  the  noblemen  of  the  royal  household 
was  dispatched  upon  this  lugubrious  errand,  and  a  religious 
service  was  performed  at  Cologne,  on  the  removal  of  the 
corpse,  at  which  four  thousand  of  the  poorer  inhabitants 
were  present.  The  black  velvet  coach  which  contained 
the  remains  of  the  once  imperious  Marie  de  Medicis  then 
proceeded  on  its  way  to  France,  stopping  at  every  town  to 
receive  the  prayers  of  the  clergy,  but  without  permitting 
the  body  to  be  carried  into  a  church,  as  the  ceremony  re- 
quired that  it  should  proceed  direct  from  the  death-room  to 
the  royal  vault,  and  finally  the  coffin  rested  at  St.  Denis  * 
*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


110  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

Great  preparations  were  at  this  period  in  progress  for 
a  new  campaign ;  but  the  health  of  the  king,  which  was 
rapidly  failing,  did  not  permit  a  hope  that  it  could  be 
undertaken ;  and  during  this  illness,  of  which  Louis  XIII. 
ultimately  died,  Monsieur  received  permission  to  return  to 
court,  was  reconciled  with  the  king,  and  obtained  the 
royal  recognition  of  his  marriage,  which  had  hitherto  been 
withheld,  as  well  as  permission  for  Madame  to  rejoin  him, 
on  condition  that,  on  her  aiTival  at  Paris,  they  should  both 
make  their  declaration  to  the  archbishop,  in  order  to  secure 
the  validity  of  the  alliance  ;  a  concession  which  the  mon- 
arch exacted  rather  for  his  own  satisfaction,  and  as  a  proof 
of  respect  and  obedience  due  to  himself  from  the  Duke 
d'Orleans,  than  for  any  assumed  irregularity  in  the  original 
ceremony.  Madame  was  at  Cambray  when  this  proposi- 
tion was  submitted  to  her,  and  she  had  no  sooner  received 
it  than  she  removed  to  a  greater  distance  from  the  capital, 
declaring  that  where  her  honor  was  concerned  she  could 
make  no  concessions  to  any  one ;  and  many  messengers 
were  dispatched  to  her  before  she  would  assent,  which  she 
did  at  last  with  unconcealed  repugnance.  She,  however, 
returned  to  France  before  the  death  of  the  king.  The 
duke  met  her  at  Meudon,  where  the  archbishop,  in  full  cos- 
tume, awaited  her  to  receive  the  mutual  declaration  of  the 
wedded  pair,  which  was  not  tendered  upon  her  part  without 
expostulation,  as  she  declared  that  nothing  could  be  more 
unnecessary.*  In  the  latter  part  of  February,  Louis  XIII. 
had  become  seriously  ill ;  and  although  he  appeared  to  re- 
vive for  a  time,  at  the  commencement  of  April  all  his  un- 
favorable symptoms  returned  upon  him,  and  he  began  forth- 
with to  devote  himself  to  his  religious  duties.  On  the  20th 
of  that  month,  in  the  presence  of  the  Duke  d'Orleans,  the 
Prince  de  Conde,  and  all  the  leading  nobility  of  the  court, 
he  declared  the  regency  of  the  queen,  who  throughout  the 
whole  of  the  time  stood  weeping  at  the  foot  of  his  bed  ;  and 
*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


THE     CUURT     OF     FRANCE.  117 

on  the  21st,  the  christening  of  the  Dauphin  took  place  with 
great  state.  The  king  had  desired  that  he  should  be  named 
Louis,  and  had  chosen  as  his  sponsors  the  Cardinal  de  Maza- 
rin  and  the  Princess  Charlotte-Marguerite  de  Montmorency, 
mother  of  the  great  Conde.  The  ceremony  was  performed 
in  the  chapel  of  the  old  palace  of  St.  Germain,  in  presence 
of  the  queen ;  and  the  prince  was  attired  in  the  magnificent 
robes  sent  to  him  by  the  Pope.  He  had  then  l-eached  the 
age  of  four  years  and  a  half.  When,  after  the  celebration 
of  the  rite,  he  was  carried  to  the  king,  Louis,  feeble  as  he 
was,  caused  him  to  be  seated  upon  the  bed,  and  then,  in 
order  to  satisfy  himself  that  his  wishes  had  been  fulfilled,  de- 
manded, "What  is  your  name,  my  child  V  "  Louis  XIV.," 
answered  the  Dauphin.  "  Not  yet,  my  son,  not  yet,"  said 
the  dying  monarch ;  "  but  pray  to  God  that  it  may  soon  be 
so."  *  He,  however,  rallied  once  more ;  and  it  was  not 
until  the  10th  of  May  that  Dubois,  one  of  the  valets-de- 
chambre,  on  perceiving  the  Dauphin  enter  the  room,  and 
drawing  back  the  curtains  of  the  death-couch,  in  order  that 
he  might  be  enabled  to  see  his  father,  discovered  the  ex- 
traordinary change  that  had  taken  place  in  the  royal  coun- 
tenance, by  which  he  was  so  much  struck  that  he  approach- 
ed the  prince,  and  whispered,  "  Monseigneur,  look  at  the 
king  asleep,  in  order  that  you  may  remember  him  when 
you  are  older." 

On  the  13th  of  the  same  month,  Louis  desired  his  physi- 
cians to  tell  him  if  he  should  live  till  the  morrow;  when, 
after  having  consulted  together,  they  answered  that  they 
did  not  think  it  possible.  "  God  be  praised  !"  was  his  re- 
ply ;  "  I  believe  that  it  is  now  time  to  take  leave  of  all  I 
love."  He  then  embraced  the  queen  tenderly,  and  spoke 
to  her  for  some  time  in  a  low  voice  ;  he  next  pressed  his 
lips  to  the  cheeks  and  brow  of  the  Dauphin,  and  his  broth- 
er, the  Duke  d'Orleans,  repeating  his  caresses  several  times; 
then  he  embraced  the  bishops  of  Meaux  and  Lisieux,  and 
*   Louis  XIV.  ot  son  Siecle. 


118  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

the  other  ecclesiastics  who  had  assisted  in  preparing  him  to 
die ;  and  finally  he  summoned  his  physician,  and  asked  him 
if  all  would  soon  be  over.  The  reply  was  affirmative ; 
upon  which  the  king  requested  the  Bishop  of  Meaux  to 
read  the  service  for  the  dying ;  and  from  that  moment  he 
never  spoke  again.  In  the  afternoon  of  the  14th  of  May, 
1643,  he  expired,  after  a  reign  of  thirty-three  years.* 

Faithful  to  the  instructions  which  he  had  received  from 
Richelieu  in  the  guise  of  a  request,  the  dying  king  had 
named  to  the  Queen-Regent  a  council  headed  by  the  Prince 
de  Conde,  and  composed  of  the  Cardinal  Mazarin,  the 
chancellor  Seguier,t  the  superintendent  Boutillier,  and  his 
son,  Chavigny,  the  secretary  of  state.  It  would  appear, 
however,  that  she  had  received  other  secret  instructions, 
from  a  passage  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Cardinal  de  Retz, 
which  runs  thus :  "  M.  de  Beaufort,!  who  had  always  been 
of  the  queen's  party,  and  who  even  played  the  gallant  to- 
ward her,  had  got  it  into  his  head  to  govern,  for  which  he 
was  less  fitted  than  his  valet-de-chambre.  The  Bishop  of 
Beauvais,  the  greatest  idiot  in  the  world,  assumed  the  sem- 
blance of  prime  minister ;  and  the  first  thing  which  he  did 

*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 

t  Peter  Seguier,  Peer  of  France,  was  born  at  Paris  in  1588,  and  was  suc- 
cessively Counselor  of  Parliament,  Mai/res  des  Requetes,  and  President 
a  Morticr,  both  dignities  peculiar  to  France,  and  not  susceptible  of  an 
intelligible  translation ;  the  former  signifying  a  magistrate  who  present- 
ed the  petitions  of  individuals  to  the  council  of  the  king,  which  was 
presided  at  by  their  chancellor;  and  the  latter,  a  president  of  the  an- 
cient parliaments,  who  was  entitled  to  wear  a  peculiar  cap,  known  as 
a  mortier.  Whence  their  title.  In  1633,  he  was  made  Keeper  of  the 
Privy  Seals,  and  two  years  subsequently  Chancellor  of  France.  He 
had  the  title  of  Duke  de  Villemot,  Count  de  Gien,  and  Protector  of  the 
French  Academy. 

X  Francis  de  Venddme,  Duke  de  Beaufort,  was  the  son  of  C;esar  de 
Vendome.  "  As  this  duke  never  expressed  himself  save  in  low  and 
vulgar  terms,  and  generally  misplaced  even  those,  and  that  he  event- 
ually made  himself  master  of  Paris,  he  was  always  called  the  '  King  of 
the  Markets.'  " — Dcs  Maizeaux. 


THE     COURT     OF      FRANCE.  119 

was  to  demand  of  the  Dutch  that  they  should  emhrace  Ro- 
manism, if  they  wished  to  remain  the  allies  of  France.  The 
queen  was  disgusted  with  this  ministerial  mummery,  and 
ordered  me  to  go  and  offer  the  post  to  my  father.*  When, 
seeing  that  he  obstinately  refused  to  leave  his  cell  at  the 
Oratory,t  she  placed  herself  in  the  hands  of  Cardinal  Maza- 

rin Madame  de  Maignelais  and  M.  de  Lisieux  asked 

the  coadjutorship  for  me,  and  the  queen  refused  it,  saying 
that  she  would  only  grant  it  to  my  father,  who  would  not 
make  his  appearance  at  the  Louvre.  He  went  but  once, 
when  the  queen  told  him  publicly  that  she  had  received  an 
order  from  the  late  king,  the  night  before  his  death,  to  be- 
stow it  upon  me." 

The  Duke  d'Orleans,  whose  disaffection  Louis  XIII.  had 
forgiven,  but  by  no  means  forgotten,  was  named  lieutenant- 
general  of  the  young  king  during  his  minority,  under  the 
authority  of  the  regent  and  her  council ;  and  thus  Anne  of 
Austria  at  length  found  herself  beyond  the  malice  of  those 
who  would  fain  have  so  poisoned  the  mind  of  her  royal 
husband  against  her,  as  to  have  induced  him  to  exclude 
her  from  the  regency ;  but  that  his  suspicion  still  weighed 
heavily  upon  her,  was  sufficiently  manifested  in  the  reply 
which  he  made  upon  his  death-bed  to  M.  de  Chavigny, 
who  was  endeavoring  to  convince  him  of  her  entire  inno 
cence.  "  In  my  present  state,"  said  the  expiring  monarch, 
"  I  ought  to  forgive  her,  but  I  ought  not  to  place  faith  in 
her." 

M.  de  Beaufort,  indignant  that  the  queen  should  have 
elected  Mazarin  to  her  confidence  in  his  despite,  conducted 
himself  in  the  most  imprudent  manner.  He  rufused  the 
abundant  favors  which  she  pressed  upon  him  ;  and  behaved 

*  Emmanuel  de  Gondi,  General  of  the  Galleys,  who  had  resigned  his 
rank  in  order  to  retire  to  the  convent  of  the  Oratory. 

1  The  Congregation  of  the  Oratory  was  a  religions  community,  estab- 
lished in  Rome  in  1540,  and  was  introduced  into  France  in  1611,  by 
the  Cardinal  Peter  de  Berulle. 


120  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

most  disrespectfully  to  Monsieur.  He  defied  the  authority 
of  the  Prince  de  Conde,  and  formed  a  party  to  oppose  the 
measures  of  the  council.*  It  will  be  remembered  that  the 
Duke  de  Vendome  had  been  imprisoned  by  Richelieu,  who 
on  that  occasion  took  possession  of  his  government  of  Brit- 
tany, which,  at  his  death,  he  bequeathed  to  the  Marshal  de 
la  Meilleraye  ;  a  transfer  which  the  Vendome  family  refused 
to  recognize ;  and  the  Duke  of  Beaufort,  young,  popular, 
and  relying  upon  ths  support  of  the  queen,  had  declared 
that  at  the  death  of  Louis  XIII.  he  would  recover,  either 
by  fair  means,  or  by  force,  the  government  which  had  been 
wrenched  from  his  father.  Thus,  as  soon  as  the  king  was 
believed  to  be  dead,  although  such  was  not  yet  the  case, 
the  opposite  factions  at  once  declared  themselves.  The 
Mai-shal  de  la  Meilleraye  summoned  his  friends  about  him ; 
M.  de  Beaufort  followed  his  example ;  and  Monsieur  acted 
in  the  same  manner.  In  this  emergency,  the  queen  sum- 
moned the  Duke  of  Beaufort  to  her  presence ;  and,  bestow- 
ing upon  him  the  appellation  of  "the  most  honest  man  in 
the  kingdom,"  intrusted  to  him  the  command  of  the  Cha- 
teau-Neuf,  in  which  the  royal  children  were  residing;  a  fa- 
vor which  gave  great  umbrage  to  the  Duke  d'Orleans,  and 
the  Prince  de  Conde. 

On  the  day  of  the  king's  death,  Anne  of  Austria  had  a 
private  interview  with  Monsieur,  in  which  every  arrange- 
ment was  mutually  agreed ;  and,  three  days  afterward,  she 
had  so  perfectly  succeeded  in  effecting  her  purpose,  that  all 
the  precautions  taken  by  Louis  XIII.  to  secure  the  fulfill- 
ment of  his  last  wishes  were  rendered  abortive.  The  Par- 
liament had  declared  the  queen  regent  of  the  kingdom,  "to 
hold  the  guardianship  and  education  of  the  person  of  his 
Majesty,  and  the  whole  administration  of  affairs,  while  the 
Duke  d'Orleans,  his  uncle,  was  to  be  lieutenant-general 
of  all  the  provinces  of  the  kingdom,  under  the  authority 

*  Memoires  da  Cardinal  de  Retz. — ■'  It  was  called  the  party  of  the 

' Important 's.' '" — Mademoiselle  de  Monlpensier. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  121 

of  the  queen ;  and  first  councilor,  also  under  her  autho- 
rity. 

"  In  his  absence,  this  presidency  was  transferred  to  the 
Prince  de  Conde,  but  always  under  the  authority  of  the 
queen. 

"  Moreover,  it  remained  in  the  power  of  the  queen  to 
select  such  persons  as  she  should  see  fit,  to  deliberate  at 
the  said  councils  on  such  matters  as  should  be  deferred  to 
them,  without  being  compelled  to  accede  to  the  plurality 
of  voices." 

Thus,  it  will  at  once  be  seen  that  Anne  of  Austria  had 
wholly  emancipated  herself  from  the  authority  of  the  coun- 
cil, which  remained  entirely  at  her  discretion ;  and  that  she 
was  in  fact,  as  well  as  name,  the  Regent  of  France,  which 
had  already  more  than  once  been  subjected  to  the  same 
questionable  rule.  Even  so  early  as  1160,  Alix  de  Cham- 
pagne, daughter  of  Thibaut,  fourth  Count  de  Champagne, 
and  widow  of  Louis  VII.,  not  only  held  the  regency  during 
the  minority  of  her  son,  but  subsequently  during  his  prow- 
ess in  the  Holy  Land. 

Mazarin  and  Chavigny  were  alike  absent  when  this 
declaration  was  made ;  and  it  was  believed  that  they  were 
both  in  disgrace  ;  but  it  was  not  so  ;  for,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  after  the  decided  refusal  of  M.  de  Gondi  to  accept 
office,  the  queen  appointed  the  cardinal  her  prime  minis- 
ter :  and  this  was  no  sooner  known  than  a  host  of  old  sus- 
picions, which  had  been  forgotten  amid  the  rapid  march 
of  events,  were  ag-ain  revived.  It  was  asserted,  that  ever 
since  1635  the  cardinal  had  been  the  lover  of  the  queen ; 
and  it  was  by  this  circumstance  that  her  enemies,  unfortu- 
nately favored  by  her  ulterior  conduct,  affected  to  account 
for  the  birth  of  Louis  XIV.,  after  so  long  and  childless  a 
period  of  marriage. 

All  these  great  and  important  changes  were  effected  in 
three  days  ;  and  on  the  fourth  news  arrived  of  the  victory 
of  Rocroy,  by  the  army  under  the  Duke  d'Enghien.  The 
vol.  i. — F 


122  LOU  IS     XIV.     A  N  D 

event  appeared  prophetic  to  the  Parisians,  who  were  loud 
in  their  rejoicings,  and  the  queen  was  hailed  with  accla- 
mations wherever  she  appeared.  The  whole  nation  par- 
ticipated in  the  general  joy ;  and  the  only  cloud  upon  the 
horizon  hovered  above  the  head  of  Mazarin,  whose  sudden 
accession  to  power  was  repugnant  to  the  princes  of  the 
blood. 

Anne  of  Austria,  although  she  succeeded  naturally  to 
her  high  position,  was,  nevertheless,  ill  at  ease.  She  had 
been  unaccustomed  to  rule ;  and  although  her  natural  in- 
stinct led  her  to  desire  it,  she  found  less  susceptibility  of 
self-indulgence  in  her  authority  than  she  had  anticipated. 
She  had  undergone  much  suffering;  and  this  fact,  in  a 
person  of  her  rank,  is  esteemed  a  virtue.  Her  very  sorrows 
had  made  her  a  strong  party  in  the  nation ;  and  now  that 
she  had  attained  to  almost  unlimited  power,  a  great  deal 
was  expected  from  her.  M.  de  Bautru*  was  wont  to  say, 
that  she  had  accomplished  two  miracles,  because  the  bigots 
themselves  had  forgotten  even  her  coquetry .t  Those  who 
had  suffered  like  herself,  and  for  her  interests,  were  insa- 
tiable ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that,  could  she  have 
satisfied  all  their  demands,  she  would  have  done  so  freely ; 
in  fact,  even  trammeled  as  she  was,  her  gratitude  was  so 
visible,  that  she  had  difficulty  in  refusing  any  thing:  and 
one  of  the  courtiers  declared  that  the  French  language  was 
reduced  to  five  words — "  The  queen  is  so  good  !"  All  the 
exiled  were  recalled,  all  the  prisoners  were  set  at  liberty, 
all  the  criminals  were  acquitted,  and  all  those  who  had 
been  dismissed  from  office  were  restored.^  Madame 
d'Hautefort,  exiled  by  the  cardinal,  was  replaced  in  her 
rank  of  lady  in  waiting  on  the  queen.     The  Marchioness 

*  William  Bautru,  Count  de  Ceran,  was  born  at  Antwerp  in  1588, 
and  died  in  1665.  He  was  one  of  the  wits  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
and  a  member  of  the  French  Academy.  He  was  the  partisan  of  both 
Kichelieu  and  Mazarin. 

t  Memoires  du  Cardinal  de  Retz.  t  Ibid. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  123 

de  Senecey,*  who  had  also  been  banished,  was  reinstated 
in  her  office  of  lady  of  honor.  Laporte,  who  since  the 
recovery  of  his  liberty,  before  the  birth  of  Louis  XIV.,  had 
remained  exiled  at  Saumur,  was  called  to  court,  and  ap- 
pointed first  valet-de-chambre  to  the  king ;  and  finally, 
Madame  de  Chevreuse,  to  whom  Louis  XIII.  had  inter- 
dicted all  entrance  into  France  during  the  war,  was  in- 
formed that  she  might  return.f 

Louis  XIV.  was  four  years  and  a  half  old  when  he  was 
muffled  in  a  large  mantle,  and  compelled  to  receive  the 
salutations  of  the  State  Companies,  as  King  of  France. 
The  Count  de  Guiche,  who,  as  we  have  already  mentioned, 
was  a  year  his  senior,  stood  upon  one  of  the  steps  of  the 
throne,  where  the  queen  had  caused  him  to  be  placed  as 
a  pattern  to  her  son,  to  induce  him  to  remain  quiet  while 
the  presentations  were  taking  place.  Both  the  children 
continued  serious  and  silent :  the  composure  of  Louis  arose 
from  pride,  and  that  of  his  playfellow  from  ennui.  It  was 
a  scene  almost  prophetic  of  their  future  characters,  for  it 
exhibited  in  each  the  vice  which  was  to  cause  his  greatest 
errors. 

This  ceremony  over,  the  queen  retired  with  her  sons  to 
Ruel ;  and  on  one  occasion,  when  she  was  driving  in  the 
park,  accompanied  by  her  children,  the  Princess  de  Conde, 
the  Duchess  d'Aiguillon,  and  the  little  Count  de  Guiche, 
she  saw  the  poet  Voituref  in  a  deep  revery,  sauntering 

*  Mary  Catherine,  Duchess  de  Randan,  lady  of  honor  to  Anne  of 
Austria,  and  governess  of  Louis  XIV.,  married  the  Marquis  de  Senecey, 
and  died  in  1677,  at  the  age  of  ninety  years.  She  was  the  daughter 
of  John  Louis,  Duke  de  la  Rochefoucauld  and  Count  of  Randan,  who 
was  killed  at  Issoire,  in  1590.  Her  daughter  married  the  Count  de 
Fleix. 

t  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 

t  Vincent  Voiture,  a  celebrated  writer  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
was  born  at  Amiens,  in  1598,  and  proceeded  to  Paris,  where  his  talents 
gained  him  admission  to  the  Hotel  de  Rambouillet,  of  which  he  became 
one  of  the  celebrities.     Gaston  d'Orleans  made  him  his  Master  of  the 


124  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

under  the  shade  of  the  trees ;  upon  which  she  ordered  her 
coachman  to  stop  the  carriage,  that  she  might  ask  her 
favorite  bard  the  subject  of  his  thoughts.  Voiture,  who, 
whatever  might  be  the  actual  merit  of  his  productions,  pos- 
sessed, in  common  with  almost  every  other  poet  of  that 
period,  the  faculty  of  improvisation,  at  once  replied  : — 

"  I  thought  of  you,  and  almost  said, 

That  after  all  the  ills  you'd  known, 
And  Fate,  upon  your  noble  head, 

Had  justly  placed  a  royal  crown ; 
It  might  be — so  my  fancy  rove — 

That  you  your  former  lot  preferred, 
When  you  were — I'd  not  say  in  love, 

But  that  the  rhyme  requires  the  word. 

I  thought  of  Cupid,  luckless  boy, 

Who  freely  lent  you  all  his  arms, 
Flung  from  you  like  a  worthless  toy, 

Without  his  quiver  and  his  charms ; 
And  marveled  what  it  might  avail 

To  me,  who  such  devotion  feel, 
If  thus  your  gratitude  can  fail 

Toward  those  who  served  your  cause  with  zeal. 

I  thought — we  poets  have  the  power 

To  dream  strange  dreams — of  what  would  come, 

If,  in  this  very  spot  and  hour, 

You  met  the  Duke  of  Buckingham  ; 


Ceremonies  and  Introducer  of  Ambassadors.  He  was  intrusted  with 
a  negotiation  in  Spain,  of  which  he  acquitted  himself  successfully. 
Elected  a  member  of  the  French  Academy,  in  1634,  he  was  appointed 
Maitre  d' 'Hotel  to  the  king,  and  Introducer  of  Ambassadors  to  the  Re- 
gent. He  died  in  1648.  His  poems  and  letters  are  witty,  but  full  of 
affectation;  and  are  no  longer  read.  He  was  the  oracle  of  the  pre- 
cieuses,  the  courtiers,  and  even  the  Academy,  whose  members  went 
into  mourning  at  his  death.  Madame  de  Sevigne,  whose  fame  has  out- 
lived his  own,  bowed  beneath  the  yoke  of  his  reputation,  as  well  as 
her  cousin  Bussy,  and  many  other  writers.  He  revived  at  court  the 
taste  for  ballads,  roundelays,  and  triplets. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  125 

And  which  would  fall  into  disgrace, 

If  such  a  thing  could  really  be, 
And  lose  within  your  heart  his  place, 

Father  Vincent*  or  he?" 

These  verses,  presuming  and  familiar  as  they  were  in 
more  than  one  point  of  view,  would  probably  have  been 
treated  as  an  impertinence  by  the  regent,  had  not  the  name 
of  Buckingham  still  possessed  sufficient  power  to  affect  her 
feelings ;  while  the  patronage  bestowed  by  the  Princess 
de  Conde  upon  the  poet,  induced  her  to  appear  unconscious 
of  their  real  meaning.  She  therefore  desired  him  to  repeat 
the  lines,  and  then  bade  him  transcribe  them  for  her,  but 
on  no  account  to  give  a  copy  to  any  one.  Voiture  obeyed ; 
and  no  surprise  and  annoyance  could  be  greater  than  that 
of  Anne  of  Austria,  when  she  found  that  they  had  traveled 
not  only  to  the  Louvre,  but  all  over  Paris.  The  queen 
reproached  the  poet  angrily  with  his  perfidy,  nor  could  he 
succeed  in  convincing  her  of  the  fidelity  with  which  he  had 
observed   her  commands ;    and   the  courtiers,  meanwhile, 

*  Saint  Vincent  de  Paule,  the  queen's  confessor.  After  terminating 
his  studies  with  distinction,  he  entered  holy  orders  in  1600.  Having 
gone  to  Marseilles  to  take  possession  of  a  bequest,  he  was  made  pris- 
oner by  some  pirates,  and  carried  off  to  Tunis,  where  he  became  a 
slave.  He  succeeded  in  effecting  his  escape,  and  returned  to  France 
in  1607.  In  1610,  he  was  appointed  almoner  to  Marguerite  de  Valois, 
and  became  tutor  to  the  sons  of  the  Count  de  Gondi ;  "  but  the  holy 
confessor  of  Anne  of  Austria,"  says  M.  Audibert,  in  his  French  Plu- 
tarch, "could  not  form  after  his  own  model  the  unevangelic  character 
of  his  pupil,  the  Cardinal  de  Retz,  and  made  a  saint  of  him  in  much 
the  same  way  as  the  Jesuits  made  a  devotee  of  Voltaire."  Vincent  de 
Paule  originated  the  idea  of  foreign  missions,  and  carried  it  out  with 
such  Mat,  that  Louis  XIII.  made  him  Almoner-General  of  the  Galleys. 
He  frequently  visited  the  galley-slaves,  consoling  them  with  religious 
help ;  and  it  is  even  said  that,  upon  one  occasion,  he  took  the  place  of 
a  galleyan,  by  whose  despair  he  was  deeply  affected.  France  is  in- 
debted to  his  pious  zeal  for  the  hospitals  of  the  Bicetre,  the  Salp^triere, 
the  Hospital  of  Pity,  that  of  Marseilles  for  galley-slaves,  and  the  Found- 
ling at  Paris.  He  also  instituted,  in  1625,  the  Missionary  Congregation. 
Called  to  the  Ecclesiastical  Council,  he  died  in  1660. 


126  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

did  ample  justice  to  the  bitterness  of  the  epigram,  of  which 
the  regent  was  so  well  aware  that  she  was  still  brooding 
over  the  insult,  when  she  chanced  one  day  to  hear  the 
little  De  Guiche  repeating  the  verses,  verbatim,  for  the 
amusement  of  the  boy-king,  and  boasting  that  he  had 
learned  them  from  hearing  Voiture  twice  repeat  them  to 
Her  Majesty.  All  was,  of  course,  explained ;  and  the 
count  severely  lectured  for  having  dared  to  mention  any 
thing  which  had  occurred  in  the  presence  of  the  queen. 
He  had,  however,  as  he  confessed,  made  a  similar  display 
of  memory  to  his  governess,  who,  having  satisfied  herself 
that  the  child's  version  was  a  faithful  one,  took  a  copy 
forthwith,  and  forwarded  it  to  a  friend  at  the  palace,  whence, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  it  soon  traveled  to  every  quarter  of 
the  capital. 

During  the  first  year  of  her  widowhood,  Anne  of  Aus- 
tria constantly  frequented  the  churches ;  and  as  some 
saintly  festival  is  celebrated  in  one  or  other  of  them  every 
day,  she  made  a  point  of  attending  each  at  that  particular 
moment.  In  the  midst  of  this  devout  pilgrimage  the  ap- 
pearance of  Madame  de  Chevreuse  was  hourly  expected. 
For  twenty  years  she  had  been  the  personal  friend  of  the 
queen ;  and  for  ten  years  she  had  suffered  persecution  on 
that  account.  She  had  been  exiled,  proscribed,  and  men- 
aced with  imprisonment ;  and  she  had  made  her  escape  in 
male  attire  to  Rome,  whence  she  had  traveled  over  Europe, 
never  for  one  moment  ceasing  to  exert  all  the  influence  of 
her  beauty  and  her  wit  in  creating  new  enemies  for  Riche- 
lieu. Not  content  with  returning  to  Paris  quietly,  she 
presumed  upon  these  circumstances,  and  left  Brussels  with 
a  suite  of  twenty  carriages ;  but  when  within  three  days' 
journey  of  the  capital,  she  encountered  the  Prince  de  Mar- 
sillac,  who  had  started  from  Paris  to  meet  her,  and  to  ex- 
plain how  much  circumstances  had  changed  during  her  ab- 
sence. He  informed  her  that  the  queen  had  become  devout, 
and  greatly  altered  in  every  respect  since  they  parted ;  and 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  127 

besought  her  to  regulate  her  conduct  upon  this  fact,  of  which 
he  had  traveled  post  to  apprise  her. 

Madame  de  Chevreuse  was  not,  however,  to  be  easily 
turned  from  her  purpose ;  and,  having  thanked  him  for  the 
attention  he  had  manifested,  she  continued  her  journey, 
only  stopping  at  Senlis  to  be  joined  by  her  husband,  and 
thence  proceeding  to  the  Louvre.  The  queen  received  her 
graciously,  and  appeared  much  pleased  to  see  her  once  more ; 
but  still  the  reception  was  not  what  she  had  anticipated 
— there  was  a  shade  of  ceremony  mingled  with  it,  which 
disconcerted  the  duchess ;  the  truth  being  that  the  queen 
had  not  only  become  devout,  as  the  Prince  de  Marsillac 
had  stated,  but  also  that  she  had  about  her  person  the  once 
beautiful  Charlotte  de  Montmorency,*  the  old  rival  of  Ma- 
dame de  Chevreuse,  who  had  now  passed  her  fiftieth  year, 
and  was  less  than  ever  disposed  to  tolerate  the  extrava- 
gances of  the  intriguing  duchess,  against  whom  she  had 
already  warned  her  royal  mistress,  who  still  retained  the 
same  ideas  of  gallantly  and  vanity,  which  are  such  bad  ac- 
companiments to  the  age  of  forty-five.t 

Madame  de  Chevreuse  was  unaware  of  this  circumstance, 
and  was  consequently  highly  displeased  at  the  manner  of 
her  reception ;  forgetting  that  she  had  been  wandering 
over  the  world,  and  intriguing  alike  in  Flanders,  Spain, 
and  Lorraine,  and  everywhere  making  herself  inimical  to 
the  interests  of  her  own  country.  She  had,  moreover,  for- 
gotten to  bear  in  mind  the  changes  which  time  must  natu- 
rally effect,  and  expected  to  find  every  thing  in  France  as 
she  had  left  it ;  whereas,  not  only  the  private  feelings  of 
the  queen  had  undergone  a  revolution,  but  even  her  politi- 
cal sentiments.  Madame  de  Chevreuse  was  aware  of  the 
affection,  perhaps  not  altogether  disinterested,  of  Anne  of 

*  "  Under  heaven  there  was  at.  that  time  nothing  so  beautiful  as  Made- 
moiselle de  Montmorency,  nor  more  graceful,  nor  more  perfect."  [She 
was  the  mother  of  the  Great  Conde.] — Bassompierre. 

t  Madame  de  Motteville. 


128  LOCIS     XIV.     AND 

Austria  for  her  brother,  and  her  extreme  attachment  to  her 
native  country,  to  which  she  had  more  than  once  endeav- 
ored to  sacrifice  the  interests  of  France ;  but  she  had  yet 
to  comprehend  how  entirely  the  position  of  the  queen  was 
altered,  and  until  this  fact  was  forced  upon  her  she  was  ut- 
terly unable  to  appreciate  her  own.  The  regent-mother 
of  Louis  XIV.  was  no  longer  a  helpless,  childless,  and  per- 
secuted woman,  involved  in  the  wild  and  ill-sustained  plots 
of  the  Duke  d'Orleans.  She  had  become  a  powerful  sov- 
ereign, upon  whom  depended,  in  an  eminent  degree,  the 
welfare  of  a  great  nation. 

The  politics  of  Madame  de  Chevreuse  betrayed  her  sex. 
Her  diplomacy  was  loud-voiced  and  transparent ;  and  she 
had  now  to  contend  with  a  man  who  struck,  while  she  only 
threatened;  and  who,  as  was  once  said  of  a  Hungarian 
king,  if  he  had  an  iron  hand,  understood  the  secret  of  gloving 
it  in  velvet.  She  had  not  retired  more  than  two  hours  from 
the  apartments  of  the  queen,  when  she  was  informed  that 
Cardinal  Mazarin  requested  the  honor  of  an  interview,  and 
all  her  old  and  daring  spirit,  which  had  been  damped  by 
the  reception  of  Anne  of  Austria,  rose  at  the  intelligence, 
while  nothing  could  exceed  the  haughtiness  with  which  she 
received  him. 

The  cardinal  advanced  toward  her,  with  a  smile  upon 
his  lips,  and  welcomed  her  in  accents  of  the  most  perfect 
suavity.  He  stated  that,  having  been  informed  of  her  ar- 
rival he  had  hastened  to  present  his  compliments ;  and, 
aware  that  the  assignations  of  the  privy  purse*  were  some- 
what tardy,  and  that  after  so  long  and  expensive  a  journey 
6he  might  probably  be  in  want  of  money,  he  had  ventured 
to  bring  her  fifty  thousand  gold  crowns,  which  he  begged 
her  to  accept  as  a  loan.t  More  and  more  self-deluded  by 
the  obsequious  bearing  of  the  minister,  the  duchess  became 
convinced  that  she  still  retained  all  her  former  influence  ; 
and  desiring  one  of  her  ladies  who  was  in  the  apartment 
*  Epargnes.  t  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle 


THE     COURT     OR     FRANCE.  129 

to  withdraw,  she  resolved  to  ascertain  the  extent  of  her 
power,  than  which  nothing  could  have  accorded  better 
with  the  designs  of  Mazarin,  who  was  resolved  to  probe  to 
the  very  depth  her  ambitious  and  daring  spirit,  which  he 
was  aware  that  he  could  subdue  at  any  moment  when  he 
might  conceive  it  to  be  expedient.  They  were  no  sooner 
alone  than  Madame  de  Chevreuse  requested  the  restoration 
of  M.  de  Vendome  to  his  government.  This  was  courte- 
ously refused,  on  the  ground  that  it  had  been  transferred 
to  Monsieur  de  Meilleraye ;  but  the  minister  temporized 
by  offering  to  give  him  the  Admiralty,  held  by  M.  de  Breze, 
who  would  be  a  less  dangerous  enemy  than  the  present 
Governor  of  Brittany ;  and,  although  only  half  satisfied, 
Madame  de  Chevreuse  was  compelled  to  abandon  the 
point.  Nevertheless  she  made  sundry  other  demands  upon 
the  generosity  of  Mazarin,  some  of  which  were  conceded ; 
and  for  some  time  she  placed  firm  faith  in  his  good-will  ; 
but,  misled  by  her  long  absence  from  court,  and  her  conse- 
quent ignorance  of  the  exact  state  of  things,  she  was  impru- 
dent enough,  whenever  she  was  in  conversation  with  the 
queen,  to  speak  slightingly  and  depreciatingly  of  the  cardi- 
nal ;  a  want  of  caution  which  undermined  the  affection  of 
Anne  of  Austria  from  day  to  day. 

Madame  d'Hautefort,  by  a  similar  line  of  conduct,  sub- 
jected herself  to  the  same  fate.* 

De  Chavigny  and  his  father,  M.  de  Boutheillier,  also  fell 
into  disgrace.  They  considered  themselves  ill  treated  by 
Mazarin,  and  resigned  office,  attaching  themselves  to  M.  de 
Beaufort,  whose  star  had  again  failed,  under  the  influence 
of  that  of  the  Prince  de  Conde,  but  whose  faction  strength- 
ened by  degrees  until  it  became  formidable ;  and  a  quarrel 

*  From  the  period  when  the  king,  Louis  XIII.,  during  his  passion 
for  this  lady,  caused  her  to  he  appointed  tiring-woman  to  the  queen, 
and  to  be  called  Madame,  all  the  ladies  who  succeeded  to  the  same 
office  availed  themselves  of  the  privilege,  and  thenceforward  it  was  re- 
garded as  a  right. 

r* 


130  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

between  two  ladies  of  the  court,  the  one,  the  daughter  of 
the  Princess  de  Conde,*  the  other,  the  mistress  of  the  Duke 
de  Beaufort,t  which  terminated  in  the  banishment  of  the 
latter  to  one  of  her  estates,  caused  it  more  prominently  to 
declare  itself.  The  Duke  de  Beaufort,  who  was  seriously 
annoyed  by  the  exile  of  Madame  de  Montbazon  from  court, 
and  who  was  aware  that  it  had  originated  rather  with  Ma- 
zarin  than  with  the  Condes,  resolved  to  revenge  it  upon  the 
minister,  and  it  was  decided  that  he  and  his  friends  should 
assassinate  him.  Bold  as  he  was,  however,  the  duke  made 
a  bad  conspirator ;  he  was  imprudent  enough  to  exhibit 
ill-humor  toward  the  queen,  which  occasionally  degenerated 
from  discourtesy  into  actual  rudeness ;  and,  like  the  Duch- 
ess de  Chevreuse  and  Madame  d'Hautefort,  he  ere  long 
entirely  alienated  her  regard.  The  conspiracy,  neverthe- 
less, proceeded,  and  the  day  of  its  execution  was  arranged, 
when  the  cardinal  was  saved  by  the  simple  circumstance 
of  meeting  the  Duke  d'Orleans,  who  took  a  seat  in  his  car- 
riage, and  by  his  presence  thwarted  the  whole  scheme. 
Another  attempt  was  made ;  but  the  minister,  forewarned 
in  time,  absented  himself  from  the  place  where  the  conspir- 
ators awaited  him. 

On  the  morrow,  the  Louvre  was  rife  with  reports  on  the 
subject  of  the  baffled  plot,  and  the  queen  expressed  her 
indignation  in  unmeasured  terms,  declaring  that  before 
forty-eight  hours  should  have  elapsed,  she  would  avenge 
herself  upon  its  authors.^  In  the  evening,  the  Duke  de 
Beaufort,  who  had  been  hunting,  arrived  at  the  Louvre, 
and  on  the  stairs  he  encountered  the  Duchess  de  Guise, 
and  his  mother,  Madame  de  Vendome,  who  had  passed  the 
day  with  the  queen ;  and,  aware  of  her  resolution  to  visit 
with  condign  punishment  the  crime  conceived  against  the 
cardinal,  entreated  him  to  retire,  having  heard  him  publicly 

*  Madame  de  Longueville. 

t  Madame  de  Montbazon,  step-daughter  of  Madame  de  Chevreuse. 

t   Memoires  de  Madame  de  Motteville. 


THE     UOUCT     OF     FRANCE.  131 

accused  as  the  instigator  of  the  plot ;  beseeching  him  at  the 
same  time  to  listen  to  the  advice  of  his  friends,  and  to  depart 
for  a  time  to  Anet.  He,  however,  refused  to  listen  to  their 
suggestions,  and  when  they  assured  him  that  his  life  would 
perhaps  be  sacrificed  by  his  appearance  at  that  moment,  he 
merely  replied,  "  They  dare  not !"  and  passed  on.  "  Alas  1 
my  dear  son,"  said  his  weeping  mother,  "  the  Duke  de 
Guise  uttered  the  same  words  on  the  very  day  of  his  as- 
sassination." M.  de  Beaufort  answered  by  a  laugh  of  doubt 
and  defiance.  He  had  seen  the  queen  only  on  the  previous 
evening,  when  he  observed  no  change  in  her  manner ;  and 
confiding  in  this  circumstance,  he  entered  the  royal  apart- 
ments without  one  misgiving.  Anne  of  Austria  received 
him  with  a  gracious  smile,  made  several  inquiries  relative 
to  the  sport  of  the  day,  and  was  still  calmly  conversing  with 
him,  when  Mazarin  entered  in  his  turn,  whom  she  desired 
to  attend  her  to  her  chamber ;  upon  which  the  duke,  seeing 
his  audience  at  an  end,  was  also  about  to  retire  by  another 
door,  when  he  was  arrested  at  the  threshold  by  the  captain 
of  the  queen's  guards. 

He  was  conducted  to  the  town  of  Vincennes,  where  he 
requested  that  servants  of  his  own  might  be  allowed  to 
replace  those  who  were  assigned  to  him,  but  his  applica- 
tion was  refused ;  and  at  the  same  time  all  his  relatives 
were  ordered  to  leave  the  capital. 

The  arrest  of  the  Duke  de  Beaufort,  who  had  supposed 
himself,  from  the  concession  of  the  queen,  already  cited, 
to  have  been  selected  as  the  governor  of  the  young  king, 
created  universal  astonishment.  People  began  to  feel 
almost  grateful  to  Mazarin  when  a  few  weeks  elapsed 
without  a  new  arrest ;  and  he  obtained  credit  for  forbear- 
ance on  many  occasions  where  his  neutrality  arose  only 
from  want  of  power.  He  caused  it  to  be  understood  that 
he  had  been  compelled  to  this  extreme  measure ;  and  that 
the  advice  of  Monsieur  and  the  Prince  de  Conde  had 
prevailed  with   the    queen   over   his   own.     His   courtesy 


132  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

increased ;  he  became  more  affable,  more  accessible,  more 
amiable  than  ever;  and  while  the  courtiers  still  esteemed 
themselves  his  equals,  he,  by  this  skillful  conduct,  was 
enabled  to  ascend  to  the  very  pinnacle  of  that  eminence 
which  was  the  object  and  aim  of  his  ambition.  The 
Parliament,  delivered  from  the  dictation  of  Richelieu,  who 
had  crippled  their  privileges,  believed  that  the  age  of  the 
new  minister,  by  whom  they  were  constantly  assured  that 
the  queen  would  act  only  by  their  advice,  was  destined  to 
renew  the  age  of  gold.  The  clergy  preached  nothing  but 
obedience ;  and  all  the  world  suddenly  found  themselves 
Mazarinites.* 

Madame    de    Chevreuse,   indignant   at  the  exile  of  so 
many   of  her  personal   friends,   ventured   to    remonstrate 
with  the  queen,  and  to  remind  her  of  the  gratitude  which 
she    owed   to   the  very   individuals  whom  she    had   since 
visited  with  her  displeasure ;  but  Anne  of  Austria  replied, 
in  the   cold    and   contemptuous    tone   which    she  so  well 
knew  how  to  assume,  that  she  would  beg  the  duchess  to 
allow  her  to  govern  the  state,  and  to  settle  the  affairs  of 
France  according  to  her  own  judgment ;  while  she  would 
also    advise  her  as  a  friend   to  live  peaceably  in   Paris, 
without  meddling  in   any  intrigue ;    and  so  enjoy,  under 
the  regency,  the  tranquillity  which  she  had  never  found 
during  the  reign  of  the  late  king.     Unawed  by  this  warn- 
ing, Madame  de  Chevreuse  still  continued  to  remonstrate ; 
and  even  uttered  sundry  reproaches,  which  Anne  of  Aus- 
tria resented  by  desiring  her  to  return  to   Tours,  where 
she   had    already   been    exiled   under    Louis    XIII.     The 
duchess  obeyed ;  but  a  short  time  afterward  she  left  Tours 
in  disguise,  and  embarked  with  her  daughter  for  England. 
Of  all  the  queen's  former  friends,  none  were  now  left 
at  court  save  Madame  de  Senecey  and  Madame  d'Haute- 
fort,  while  their  tenure  of  favor  had  already  become  more 
than  doubtful ;  nor  was  it  long  ere  the  latter  was  in  her 
*  Cardinal  dc  Retz. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  133 

turn  exiled,  for  offering  unpalatable  advice  to  her  royal 
mistress ;  to  which  she  had  been  induced,  not  only  by  her 
own  anxiety  for  the  queen's  reputation,  but  also  by  that 
of  several  other  individuals  about  the  court,  who  saw  with 
regret  that  the  evil  reports  which  were  gaining  ground 
of  her  undue  attachment  to  the  Italian  minister,  were 
undermining  the  respect  and  affection  of  the  people.  As 
to  Madame  de  Senecey,  although  she  found  herself  grad- 
ually overlooked,  and  finally  deprived  of  all  influence,  ex- 
cluded from  the  confidence  of  the  queen,  and  refused 
every  favor  which  she  ventured  to  solicit — she  tacitly 
accepted  the  ungracious  position  assigned  to  her,  and 
clinging  to  the  court  rather  from  habit  than  from  incli- 
nation, subsided  into  utter  insignificance. 

The  famous  faction  of  the  hnportants  was  extinguished 
forever;  and  Mazarin  ruled  France  in  the  names  of  the 
king,  the  queen,  and  the  council.* 

At  this  period  the  Duke  d'Enghien  arrived  in  the 
capital  with  all  his  laurels  gathered  at  Rocroy  fresh  upon 
him ;  and  his  reception  was  enthusiastic.  His  own  satis- 
faction was,  however,  decreased  by  the  termination  of  the 
misunderstanding  between  his  sister  and  Madame  de  Mont- 
bazon,  who  had  not  been  compelled,  as  he  considered,  to 
make  atonement  equal  to  her  offense ;  and  his  first  design 
on  leaching  Paris  was  to  challenge  the  Duke  de  Beaufort, 
who  had  taken  so  prominent  and  hostile  a  part  in  the 
quarrel.  Unfortunately  for  his  project,  he  at  once  learned 
the  arrest  of  the  duke ;  and  finding  himself  without  any 
adversary  in  the  affair,  of  sufficient  rank  to  justify  a  prince 
of  the  blood  in  drawing  his  sword  against  him,  it  was 
ultimately  resolved  that  the  issue  of  the  disagreement 
should  be  confided  to  the  friends  of  both  parties.  The 
Count  de   Colignyt  no   sooner  ascertained  this  fact,  than 

*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 

t  Grandson  of  the  famous  Admiral  de  Coligny,  who  was  one  of  the 
victims  of  the  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew. 


134  LOUIS  XIV.   AND  THE  COURT  OF  FRANCE. 

he  requested  permission  of  M.  d!Enghien  to  call  out  the 
Duke  de  Guise,  who  had  been  one  of  the  champions  of 
Madame  de  Montbazon,  and  who  was  reported  to  have 
succeeded  the  Duke  de  Beaufort  in  her  good  graces. 
De  Guise  had  at  this  period  attained  his  twenty-ninth 
year;  and  had  just  been  recalled  to  France  by  the  queen. 
The  Duke  d'Enghien  acceded  to  the  request  of  Coligny, 
who  selected  as  his  second  the  Count  d'Estrade  ;*  and  his 
challenge  was  at  once  accepted.  Coligny,  grievously 
wounded,  and  previously  enfeebled  by  severe  illness,  was 
compelled  to  surrender,  and  after  lingering  for  a  few 
months,  ultimately  died ;  while  the  Duke  de  Guise  ex- 
perienced no  diminution  of  his  favor  at  court,  but  was 
suffered  to  enjoy  his  triumph  with  utter  impunity ;  a  fact 
which  at  once  overthrew  all  the  efforts  that  had  been  made 
by  Richelieu  to  Suppress  dueling,  and  restored  alike  its 
practice  and  its  fashion.t 

"  This  duel,"  says  Mademoiselle,  "  in  some  degree 
renewed  the  divisions  at  court ;  but  not  sufficiently  to  in- 
terfere with  its  pleasures ;  there  was  dancing  everywhere, 
and  especially  in  my  apartments,  although  it  was  not  con- 
sistent to  hear  the  sound  of  violins  in  a  room  hung  with 
black." X 

*  Godfrey,  Count  d'Estrade,  was  born  at  Agen,  in  1607,  and  became 
Marshal  of  France  and  Viceroy  of  America.  He  served  a  long  time  in 
Holland,  under  Prince  Maurice,  as  the  agent  of  France;  and  was  ap- 
pointed ambassador-extraordinary  in  England,  in  1661 .  Having  nego- 
tiated, in  1662,  the  purchase  of  Dunkirk,  he  was  authorized  to  receive 
the  city  from  the  English.  In  1666  he  was  again  sent  to  London  in  the 
same  capacity,  and  sustained,  with  great  firmness,  the  prerogatives  of 
the  French  crown.  In  1667  he  concluded,  in  Holland,  the  treaty  of 
Breda.     He  died  in  1686. 

t  "  Richelieu  had  based  his  extreme  severity  on  this  point  upon  a 
calculation  made  by  M.  de  Lominie,  in  March  1607,  who  proved  that 
since  the  accession  of  Henry  IV.,  in  1589,  to  that  period,  four  thousand 
noblemen  had  been  killed  in  duels  ;  making  an  average  of  two  hundred 
and  twenty  yearly." — Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 

t  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


The  Palais-Cardinal — "  What's  in  a  Name  V — Establishment  of  Louis 
XIV. — Amusements  of  the  royal  Children — The  Children  of  Honor 
— Education  of  the  young  King — Historical  Readings  by  Laporte — 
Aversion  of  the  King  to  Mazarin — M.  de  Mancini  and  the  Bougeoir 
— The  Grand  Turk — The  Wardrobe  of  Louis  XIV. — A  royal  Fast — 
Campaign  of  Flanders — The  Rodogune  of  Corneille — Arrival  of  Queen 
Henrietta  in  France — Avarice  of  Mazarin  —  Battle  of  Nordlingen — 
Selfishness  of  Mazarin — Contract  of  Marie  de  Gonzague  and  the  King 
of  Naples — The  Cardinal  de  Retz — Madame  de  Sevigne — The  Polish 
Nobles — A  Contrast. 

Near  the  close  of  the  year  1643,  the  queen  left  the 
Louvre,  and  with  the  infant  princes  took  up  her  abode  in 
the  Cardinal-Palace,  which,  it  may  be  remembered,  had 
been  bequeathed  by  Richelieu  to  the  young  king ;  but  as 
it  was  suggested  by  the  Marquis  de  Prouville,  the  con- 
troller of  the  king's  household,  that  it  was  not  expedient 
for  His  Majesty  to  inhabit  the  residence  of  a  subject,  under 
any  circumstances  whatever,  the  inscription  above  the  door- 
way was  effaced,  and  that  of  Palais-Royal  was  substituted 
in  its  stead. 


1 36  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

The  Cardinal-Palace  was  originally  a  simple  residence, 
situated  at  the  extremity  of  Paris,  near  the  wall  of  the  city. 
It  had  been  rebuilt  in  1629,  on  the  space  occupied  by  the 
hotels  of  Rambouillet  and  Mercoeur,  purchased  by  the  car- 
dinal, and  it  had  increased  as  his  fortune  became  aggran- 
dized. More  powerful  than  the  sovereign  the  cardinal 
was  anxious  to  be  also  magnificent.  Consequently  the 
wall  had  been  thrown  down,  the  moat  had  been  filled  in, 
and  the  garden,  freed  from  all  that  had  impeded  the  regu- 
larity of  its  dimensions,  had  extended  itself  to  the  meadows, 
upon  which  the  rue  Neuve-des-Petits-Champs,  and  the  rue 
Vivienne  have  since  been  built.  Moreover,  Richelieu  had 
opened  the  street  which  bears  his  name,  and  which  led  di- 
rectly from  his  palace  to  his  farm  of  Lagrange-Bateliere, 
situated  at  the  foot  of  Montmatre.  All  these  acquisitions, 
including  the  price  of  the  Hotel  de  Sillery,  which  he  had 
purchased  for  the  sole  purpose  of  pulling  it  down,  in  order 
to  have  an  open  square  in  front  of  the  new  edifice,  had  cost 
the  cardinal  816,618  livres ;  an  enormous  sum  at  that  time, 
since  it  corresponded  to  nearly  4,000,000  of  the  money  of 
the  present  day.* 

It  was,  therefore,  by  no  means  extraordinary  that  when 
Madame  d'Aiguillon,  the  niece  of  Richelieu,  was  informed 
of  the  removal  of  the  inscription  from  the  facade  of  this  cel- 
ebrated palace,  she  should  expostulate  firmly,  but  respect- 
fully, with  the  queen  upon  the  ungracious  and  ungraceful 
disregard  to  the  memory  of  the  cardinal,  which  was  mani- 
fested by  the  change ;  nor,  that  Anne  of  Austria,  aware 
that  but  for  the  magnificent  liberality  of  the  minister  to  his 
young  monarch,  it  could  never  have  been  effected,  should 
instantly  cause  its  restoration.  Popular  taste  had,  howev- 
er, decided  against  any  further  alteration,  and  although  on 
stone  it  again  became  the  Cardinal-Palace,  on  the  lips  of 
the  Parisians  it  was  still  known  only  as  the  Palais-Royal. 

Louis  XIV.,  then  five  years  old,  was  installed  in  the  apart- 
*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  137 

ments  of  Richelieu  ;  his  accommodations  were  confined,  but 
conveniently  situated  between  the  gallery  of  Illustrious  Per- 
sonages, which  occupied  the  left  wing  of  the  second  court, 
and  that  which  ran  along  the  wing  of  the  front  court,  and 
in  which  Philip  de  Champagne,*  the  favorite  painter  of 
His  Eminence,  had  portrayed  the  leading  events  of  his 
life.  The  apartments  of  the  Queen-Regent  were  much 
more  spacious  and  elegant ;  but  still,  not  satisfied  with 
what  Richelieu  had  done,  she  added  to  the  luxury  of  the 
ornaments  of  which  he  had  already  been  so  prodigal ;  and 
confided  the  task  of  these  interior  embellishments  to  La 
Mercier,  her  architect,  and  to  Vouet,  who  proclaimed  him- 
self the  first  painter  in  Europe.t 

Her  cabinet,  which  was  considered  as  the  marvel  and 
the  miracle  of  Paris,  contained  a  work  by  Leonardo  da 
Vinci ;  the  Kindred  of  the  Virgin,  by  Andrea  del  Sarto ; 
an  JEneas  saving  Anchises,  by  Annibal  Carraccio  ;  a  Flight 
into  Egyjrt,  by  Guido ;  a  St.  John  mounted  on  an  Eagle,  by 
Raphael ;  two  pictures  by  Poussin ;  and  the  Pilgrims  of 
Emmaiis,  by  Paul  Veronese.  This  cabinet  was  the  wojk 
of  the  cardinal ;  but  the  queen  added  to  it  a  bath-room,  an 
oratoiy,  and  a  gallery.  All  which  the  taste  of  the  time 
could  combine  of  flowers,  ciphers,  and  allegories,  was  scat- 
tered over  a  golden  ground  in  the  bath-room.  The  oratory 
was  hung  with  paintings  by  Champagne,  Vouet,  and  Bour- 

*  Philip  Van-Champagne,  born  at  Brussels  in  1602,  went  to  Paris  in 
1621,  where  he  became  the  pupil  of  Poussin.  He  obtained  the  appoint- 
ment of  painter  to  the  king,  with  a  pension  of  one«thousand  two  hundred 
livres.  On  the  formation  of  the  Academy  of  Painting,  in  1648,  he  was 
one  of  the  first  members  received,  and  was  named  rector.  He  died  in 
1674.  His  finest  works  were,  The  Vow  of  Louis  XIII.;  the  Appari- 
tion of  Saint  Gervais  and  Saint  Protais  to  Saint  Ambrose,  and  the 
Translation  of  their  Bodies ;  a  Cena,  &c. 

t  Simon  Vouet,  a  celebrated  painter  of  the  French  school,  was  born 
in  Paris,  in  1582.  He  received  a  pension  from  Louis  XIII.  His  school 
produced  Lebrun,  Lesueur,  and  Mignard.  He  died  first  painter  and 
drawing-master  to  the  king,  in  1641.  His  works  contain  nothing  re- 
markable, and  appear  unworthy  of  the  vogue  which  they  obtained. 


138  LOl'IS     XIV.     AND 

don  Stella,*  representing  the. principal  events  in  the  life  of 
the  Virgin.  A  solitary  window,  of  which  the -frame  was 
silver,  served  to  light  it. 

As  regarded  the  gallery,  which  was  placed  in  the  most 
retired  situation,  whose  ceiling  was  painted  hy  Vouet,  and 
whose  floor  was  wrought  by  Mare,  the  regent  appropriated 
it  as  a  council-chamber.t 

Mazarin  had  also  his  apartments  in  the  palace,  looking 
upon  the  rue  des  Bons  Enfans  ;  and  he  had  an  armed  guard 
at  their  entrance,  similar  to  those  of  its  royal  tenants. 

At  this  time  Louis  was  still  under  the  care  of  Madame 
de  Senecey  and  his  female  attendants,  who  were  to  con- 
tinue their  charge  until  he  should  reach  his  seventh  year. 
The  cardinal  had  the  superintendence  of  his  education  ; 
while  M.  de  Villeroi  was  appointed  his  governor ;  M.  Du- 
mont,  his  sub-governor ;  M.  de  Perefixe,Jhis  preceptor ;  and 

*  We  can  find  but  one  painter  of  the  name  who  flourished  at  that 
period — James  Stella,  born  at  Lyons,  in  1596,  of  a  family  of  artists, 
originally  from  Flanders.  In  1616  he  made  a  journey  to  Italy,  and 
visited  Rome  and  Florence.  When  he  returned  to  France,  he  was  ap- 
pointed first  painter  to  the  king,  and  Knight  of  the  Order  of  St.  Michael. 
He  died  in  1657.  His  works  are  much  esteemed.  Two  of  them, 
Jesus  appearing  to  Mary  Magdalene,  and  Minerva  surrounded  by  the 
Muses,  are  in  the  gallery  of  the  Louvre.  This  is,  in  all  probability,  the 
artist  to  whom  allusion  is  made  in  the  text,  and  who  has  been  confused 
with  Sebastian  Bourdon,  born  in  Montpellier,  so  late  as  1616,  and  who 
was  the  Director  of  the  Academy  of  Painting,  and  made  himself  cele- 
brated at  the  age  of  twenty-seven  by  his  Martyrdom  of  St.  Peter,  which 
was  his  best  work.  He  died  in  1671.  One  of  the  principal  paintings 
in  St.  Peter's  at  Rome*is  the  production  of  his  pencil. 

t  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle.  Extracted  from  the  work  of  M.  Vatout 
on  the  Royal  Residences. 

\  Hardouin  de  Beaumont  de  Perefixe,  born  in  1605,  was  appointed 
preceptor  to  Louis  XIV.  in  1644,  Bishop  of  Rodez  in  1648,  and  soon 
afterward  confessor  to  the  king ;  member  of  the  French  Academy  in 
1654,  and  Archbishop  of  Paris  in  1662.  He  died  in  1670,  universally 
regretted  both  for  his  wisdom  and  for  his  high  morality.  He  wrote, 
for  the  use  of  his  royal  pupil,  a  book,  entitled  Institutio  Principis;  but 
his  principal  work  was  a  Life  of  Henry  IV.,  which  has  been  translated 
into  almost  every  European  laugnage. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  139 

Laporte,  his  first  valet-de-chambre.  All  the  amusements 
of  the  infant  king  were  of  a  military  tendency.  He  delight- 
ed in  handling  arms,  and  drumming  upon  the  windows  and 
tables ;  while  the  Duke  d'Anjou,  on  the  contrary,  was  gen- 
tle and  quiet  in  his  sports.  Mademoiselle  mentions  in  her 
Memoirs  that  she  was  in  the  habit  of  going  generally  twice 
a-day  to  play  with  the  little  princes;  and  that  the  Duke 
d'Anjou  was  the  prettiest  child  in  the  world ;  while  the 
more  martial  tastes  of  the  king  do  not  appear  to  have  made 
an  equal  impression  upon  her.  Louis  had  his  baby-court, 
of  which  the  leader  was  the  Count  de  Guiche.  In  1636, 
Louis  Henry  de  Lomenie,*  then  seven  years  of  age,  was 
added  to  their  number;  and  it  is  to  him  that  those  who 
are  interested  in  the  childhood  of  the  young  sovereign  are 
indebted  for  the  earliest  anecdotes  which  have  been  record- 
ed. De  Lomenie  was  already  installed  as  one  of  the  "  chil- 
dren of  honor,"  for  thus  were  the  associates  of  Louis  offi- 
cially called,  when  a  reinforcement  of  the  little  court  took 
place ;  and  his  account  of  this  ceremonial  is  too  character- 
istic to  be  omitted.  The  new  courtiers  were  the  Marquis 
de  la  Chatre,  the  Messieurs  de  Coislin,  the  nephew  of  the 
Chancellor  Seguin,  M.  de  Vivonne,t  the  Count  de  Plessis 
Praslin,  and  the  Chevalier,  his  brother. 

The  queen-regent  had  placed  about  the  person  of  the 
king,  Madame  de  la  Salle,  one  of  her  femmes-de-chambre ; 
and  it  was  she  who  received  the  noble  recruits,  drums  beat- 
ing, at  the  head  of  the  troop  of"  children  of  honor"  already 
on  the  establishment,  in  the  gallery  of  the  Louvre  which 
contained  the  portraits  of  the  kings  of  France.  "  She  car- 
ried a  pike  in  her  hand,  a  gorget  rested  upon  her  tight-fit- 
ting and  stiffly-starched  neckerchief,  and  she  had  a  man's 
hat  upon  her  head,  covered  with  a  profusion  of  black  feath- 
ers, and  a  sword  by  her  side.     She  presented  a  musket  to 

*  Son  of  the  Count  de  Brienne,  who  succeeded  Chavigny  as  Secre- 
tary of  State. 

f  Afterward  Marshal  of  France. 


140 


LOUIS     XIV.     AND 


each  of  the  new  comers,  by  whom  it  was  received  with  a 
military  salute,  the  order  forbidding  them  to  take  off  their 
hats.  She  then  kissed  them  in  succession  upon  the  fore- 
head, gave  them  her  blessing  as  cavalierly  as  the  abbe  de 
Gondi*  himself  could  have  done ;  and  this  accomplished, 
ordered  the  drill  which  was  performed  daily."  t 

The  king  and  the  children  of  honor  were  in  the  habit  of 
exchanging  trifling  presents,  and  De  Lomenie  having,  on 
one  occasion,  delighted  his  royal  playfellow  by  some  gift, 
and  being  desirous  to  amuse  himself  with  a  crossbow  which 
was  just  then  in  favor  with  Louis,  the  latter  consented  in 
return  to  lend  him  the  coveted  plaything ;  but  anxious  to 
repossess  it,  eventually  held  out  his  hand  to  take  it  back, 
when  Madame  de  Senecey  observed :  "  Sire,  kings  give 
what  they  lend."  Upon  which  Louis,  desiring  his  young 
companion  to  approach,  said,  calmly :  "  Keep  the  cross- 
bow, M.  de  Lomenie  :  I  wish  that  it  were  something  of 
more  importance,  but  such  as  it  is,  I  give  it  you  with  all 
my  heart."  It  is  not  possible  to  suppose,  even  if  this  were 
a  spontaneous  movement,  that  it  was  equally  an  improvised 
address ;  but  it  is  evident  that  if  Madame  de  Senecey  were 
an  able  prompter,  she  had  at  once  an  apt  and  a  docile 
pupil. 

At  seven  years  of  age,  Louis  suddenly  found  every  thing 
changed  about  him.  MM.  de  Villeroi  and  Perefixe,  La- 
porte,  and  the  other  valets  came  into  office,  and  all  his  fe- 
male attendants  were  withdrawn;  but  not  even  his  little 
court  could  compensate  to  the  royal  child  for  the  bereave- 
ment, when  he  found  himself  all  at  once  surrounded  by  male 
attendants,  and  missed  many  of  the  most  cherished  indul- 
gences of  his  infancy. 

Laporte  relates  that  the  young  king  was  greatly  cha- 
grined on  discovering  the  inability  of  those  about  him  to 
relate  the  fairy  tales  with  which  he  had  hitherto  been  lulled 
to  sleep ;  upon  which  he  ventured  to  suggest  to  the  queen, 

*  Afterward  Cardinal  de  Retz.  t  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  141 

that  should  Her  Majesty  consider  it  expedient,  he  would 
substitute  for  these  fables  some  work  of  more  utility,  that 
in  the  event  of  the  king's  continuing  wakeful,  he  might  at 
least  retain  impressions  worthy  to  remain  upon  his  mem- 
ory. He  then  obtained  from  M.  de  Perefixe,  Mezerai's 
History  of  France,  from  which  he  each  night  read  a  chap- 
ter aloud ;  and  ere  long,  Louis,  contrary  to  his  expectation, 
became  greatly  interested  in  this  new  study,  protesting  that 
he  would,  when  he  grew  up,  emulate  Charlemagne,  Saint 
Louis,  and  Francis  I. ;  and  exhibiting  great  displeasure 
when  he  was  told  that  he  would  be  a  second  Louis  the 
Slothful 

As  these  historical  readings  proceeded,  the  pleasure 
which  the  little  king  evinced  in  their  progress  increased 
more  and  more  ;  but  Laporte  was  not  long  ere  he  discov- 
ered that  they  by  no  means  afforded  equal  satisfaction  to 
the  cardinal ;  who,  on  one  occasion,  when  Louis  was  in  bed, 
listening  to  the  Life  of  Hugues  Capet,  entered  the  chamber 
on  his  way  to  the  Concicrgerie  where  he  resided  ;  and  in- 
quiring the  name  of  the  book  from  which  he  was  reading, 
and  being  told  that  it  was  the  History  of  France,  shrugged 
his  shoulders,  and  left  the  room  abruptly,  without  making 
any  remark.  Louis,  as  soon  as  he  was  aware  of  the  pres- 
ence of  Mazarin,  had  shut  his  eyes,  and  affected  to  be 
asleep ;  but  on  the  morrow  the  cardinal  observed  publicly 
that  he  presumed  the  governor  of  the  king  put  on  his  stock- 
ings, as  he  found  that  his  valet-de-chambre  was  teaching 
him  history.  The  policy  of  the  wily  cardinal  had  begun 
even  thus  early  to  prompt  his  antipathy  to  the  mental  pro- 
gression of  the  young  sovereign.  In  all  that  related  to  his 
physical  development  he  was  zealous ;  nor  was  he  less  will- 
ing to  encourage  the  incipient  vanity  which  betrayed  itself 
in  the  bearing  and  actions  of  Louis ;  his  haughtiness  and 
his  egotism  met  with  no  rebuke ;  it  was  the  intellect,  not 
the  passions,  or  the  bodily  strength  of  the  prince,  which  he 
desired  to  cripple ;  he  was  willing  that  he  should  mount 


142  LOUIS    XIV.     A  N  D 

rhe  triumphal  ear.  provided  the  reins  remained  in  his  own 
hands :  and  to  insure  this,  it  was  necessary  that  he  should 
be  rendered  incapable  of  grasping  them. 

The  aversion  of  Louis,  child  as  he  was,  for  the  cardinal, 
was  at  once  strong  and  tenacious :  and  this  aversion,  far 
from  being  confined  to  the  person  of  the  minister,  was  ex- 
tended to  all  his  family,  whom  he  had  sent  for  from  Italy, 
and  who  were  sufficiently  numerous  to  give  full  scope  to 
the  hatred  of  the  young  king.  One  of  the  nephews  of  the 
Mazarin  had  been  admitted  into  the  ranks  of  the  children 
of  honor:  and  amiable  and  high-spirited  as  he  was.  Louis 
still  included  him  in  his  distaste,  of  winch  he  gave  a  proof 
every  night,  when,  as  he  was  about  to  retire,  the  first  valet- 
de-chambre  presented,  by  his  order,  a  candlestick  containing 
two  wax-fights  to  whichever  member  of  his  little  court  he 
desired  to  retain  as  his  companion  while  preparing  to  2:0 
to  rest :  by  desiring  that  the  bougie  should  not  be  given  to 
M.  de  Mancini. 

On  one  occasion,  at  Compiegne,*  as  the  cardinal  was 
passin?  with  a  numerous  suite  alone:  the  terrace,  the  king 
turned  away,  savin g.  without  any  attempt  to  lower  his 
voice  :  "  There  is  the  Grand  Turk  going  by.'*  Deplessis, 
a  gentleman  of  the  sleeve.t  who  overheard  the  remark,  im- 
mediately reported  it  to  the  regent,  who  sent  for  her  son, 
expressed  great  displeasure,  and  insisted  upon  his  declaring 

*  This  Chateau-Royal  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  France,  alike 
•    xtent  and  ":  It  was  rebuilt  by  Louis  XV..  completed 

under  Louis  XVI..  and  comr.  te&  by  Napoleon.    Near  Com- 

piegne is  a  vast  forest.  In  the  fifteenth  century,  the  English  took 
-  —.on  of  it:  but  Charles  VII.  drove  them  out;  and  Joan  of  Arc 
feU  into  their  power  during  the  siere. 

t  The  Gentlemen  of  the  Sleeve  were  a  corps  of  nobles  attached  to 
the  personal  service  of  the  French  princes  from  the  period  when  they 
passed  from  the  care  of  their  female  to  that  of  their  male  attendants, 
until  their  majority.  They  accompanied  them  everywhere :  and  as 
etiquet  did  not  permit  them  to  hold  the  roval  hand,  they  merely  touch- 
ed the  sleeve  of  their  roval  c:  1  « 


THE     COCK  T     OF     F  a  A  A  C  >..  1  13 

to  her  the  name  of  the  person  who  had  bestowed  this  ap- 
pellation upon  the  minister ;  her  threats,  were,  however, 
useless,  for  Louis  persisted  in  asserting  that  no  one  had 
prompted  him  to  bestow  it,  but  that  it  had  suggested  itself 
to  his  own  mind.  He  also  made  a  remark  of  similar  tend- 
ency some  time  subsequently  at  St.  Germain,  when,  as  the 
swords  and  spurs  of  the  gentlemen  in  attendance  upon  Ma- 
zarin  struck  against  the  marble  stairs  when  they  retired,  he 
said,  dryly :  "  His  Eminence  the  cardinal  makes  a  great 
noise  wherever  he  passes  ;  he  must  have  about  five  hundred 
persons  in  his  suite."  And  again,  a  few  days  afterward, 
as  he  was  traversing  a  passage  in  which  he  observed  one 
of  the  household  of  the  minister,  named  Bois-Ferme,  evi- 
dently in  attendance,  he  turned  to  M.  de  Nyert  and  La- 
porte,  who  were  following  him,  and  observed :  "  So  the 
cardinal  is  with  mamma  again,  for  I  see  Bois-Ferme  in  the 
passage.     Does  he  always  wait  there  V 

"  Yes,  Sire,"  answered  Nyert ;  "  but  in  addition  to  Bois- 
Ferme,  there  is  another  gentleman  upon  the  stairs,  and  two 
in  the  corridor." 

"  There  is  one  at  every  stride,  then,"  said  the  young 
king. 

The  state  affected  by  the  cardinal  already  jarred  upon 
the  natural  haughtiness  of  the  young  monarch  ;  and  boy  as 
he  was,  it  was  impossible  that  he  could  contrast  the  exag- 
gerated magnificence  of  his  mother's  minister  with  his  own 
neglected  and  almost  destitute  condition,  without  feeling 
how  insultingly  Mazarin  had  profited  by  his  weakness  and 
want  of  power.  That  those  by  whom  Louis  was  surround- 
ed were  equally  inimical  to  the  cardinal  there  can  be  no 
doubt ;  and  thus  the  aversion  of  the  young  king  was  per- 
mitted to  grow  on  unchecked  by  expostulation  of  any  kind  ; 
save  in  the  occasional  conferences  with  the  regent,  during 
which  he  stood  and  listened  with  a  swelling  heart  and  a 
proud  eye,  and  from  which  he  retired  only  strengthened  in 
his  distaste.     Nothing  more,  however,  was  requisite  than 


144  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

that  he  should  look  around  him,  and  remembering  who  he 
was,  throw  back  the  coverings  of  his  bed,  and  reveal  the 
sheets,  worn  and  ragged,  through  which  Laporte  relates 
that  his  legs  occasionally  passed,  and  rested  on  the  bare 
matress ;  or  take  from  the  hands  of  an  attendant  the  dress- 
ing-gown of  green  velvet,  lined  with  squirrel-fur,  which, 
made  on  the  dimensions  necessary  for  a  previous  year,  fin- 
ished by  reaching  only  half-way  down  his  legs.  Nor  were 
uis  equipages  more  magnificent  than  his  wardrobe ;  for 
wishing  one  day  to  proceed  to  Conflans  to  take  a  bath,  La- 
porte gave  the  necessary  orders,  and  a  carriage  drove  up 
to  convey  His  Majesty  ;  but  as  Laporte  was  about  to  enter 
it,  in  order  to  prepare  the  interior  for  the  reception  of  his 
master,  he  perceived  that  the  leather  fittings  of  the  doors 
had  been  removed,  and  that  it  was  altogether  in  so  dilapi- 
dated a  condition  that  even  the  short  journey  which  had 
been  contemplated  could  not  be  undertaken  without  great 
risk  of  accident.  Laporte  was  accordingly  compelled  to 
announce  to  the  king  that  he  must  forego  his  project,  as  it 
would  not  only  be  attended  with  danger,  but  that,  more- 
over, he  would  excite  the  mockery  of  the  people  by  appear- 
ing in  such  an  equipage.  Louis,  believing  that  there  must 
be  exaggeration  in  the  report,  insisted  upon  seeing  the  car- 
riage himself;  when  he  no  sooner  discovered  the  wretched 
state  of  the  vehicle,  and  the  want  of  respect  with  which  he 
was  treated  in  being  exposed  to  travel  in  such  a  style,  than 
he  became  red  with  anger,  turned  away  in  disgust,  and  the 
same  evening  complained  bitterly  to  the  regent,  to  the  car- 
dinal, and  to  M.  de  Maison,  who  was  at  that  period  the  su- 
perintendent of  finance.  Thanks  to  this  expostulation,  the 
king  had  five  new  carriages.* 

Nor  did  the  avarice  of  Mazarin  display  itself  only  toward 
the  young  monarch  ;  for  the  court  of  Anne  of  Austria  her- 
self, to  whom  he  owed  alike  his  elevation  and  his  power — 
whose  very  reputation  had  been  sacrificed  to  the  furtherance 
*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  145 

of  his  ambition — was  in  so  deplorable  a  state  of  penury  and 
discomfort,  that  Madame  de  Motteville  distinctly  declares  in 
her  Memoirs,  that  the  ladies  attached  to  the  person  of  the 
queen-regent  had  no  table  provided  for  them  in  the  palace, 
and  very  frequently  were  without  food  of  any  kind  until  after 
her  supper,  when  they  devoured  the  fragments  of  the  re- 
past, eating  even  the  remains  of  her  bread,  and  making  use 
of  her  finger-napkin.  A  cotemporaneous  writer  states,  that 
"  the  cardinal  declared  he  desired  nothing  for  himself;  and 
that,  all  his  family  being  in  Italy,  he  would  adopt  as  his  re- 
lations the  servants  of  the  queen,  and  seek  alike  his  great- 
ness and  his  security  in  overwhelming  them  with  benefits !"  * 
The  sequel  proved  the  sincerity  with  which  he  had  put  forth 
the  assertion. 

The  year  1644  was  much  less  fertile  in  events.  Mon- 
sieur had  taken  Gravelines,  and  won  the  battle  of  Fribourg ; 
and  although,  as  a  counterbalance  to  this  success,  the  battle 
of  Lerida  and  the  siege  of  Tarragona  had  both  terminated 
unfortunately  in  Spain,  the  court  eagerly  seized  so  legiti- 
mate a  subject  of  rejoicing  as  the  victory  of  the  Duke  d'Or- 
leans  at  Gravelines,  to  compensate  itself  for  a  revolt  which 
had  lately  taken  place  in  Paris,  on  the  occasion  of  certain 
house  taxes  which  the  government  had  endeavored  to  im- 
pose, and  which  had  no  result  beyond  providing  the  parlia- 
ment with  new  subjects  of  complaint  against  the  minister. 
Mademoiselle  expatiates  with  great  complacency  upon 
these  demonstrations,  of  which,  as  the  daughter  of  the  vic- 
tor, she  was  necessarily  the  heroine.  "  The  day  that  the 
Te  Dcum  was  chanted  at  Notre-Dame  in  gratitude  for 
this  victory,"  she  says,  "  there  were  public  rejoicings.  The 
chancellor  gave,  the  same  evening,  some  very  pretty  fire- 
works in  front  of  his  hotel,  to  which  I  was  invited  by  Ma- 
dame de  Sully.  Madame  had  a  great  bonfire  on  the  morrow 
in  the  court  of  the  Orleans  Palace,  while  at  all  the  windows 
there  were  paper  lanterns,  with  the  arms  of  their  Royal 
*  La  Rochefoucauld. 
VOL.  I. G 


1 40  LUUIS     X     V.     AND 

Highnesses  painted  upon  them ;  and  to  render  the  ceremo- 
ny complete,  there  was  also  a  ball  and  a  collation.  Two 
days  afterward,  I  did  the  same  ;  and  then  I  took  the  violins 
to  the  queen,  who  was  pleased  to  make  us  dance  a  tolera- 
bly long  time  on  the  terrace  of  the  Palais-Royal."* 

In  this  year  sprung  to  life  the  famous  sect  of  the  Jansen- 
ists,  to  which,  however,  we  shall  do  no  more  than  allude, 
as  religious  controversies  are  irrelevant  to  our  purpose. 

At  this  period,  too,  Comeille  completed  his  Rodogune — 
one  of  his  master-pieces — of  which  he  was  himself  so  enam- 
ored that,  in  the  Introduction,  he  exclaims :  "  It  unites 
beauty  of  subject,  novelty  of  fiction,  poetical  strength,  fa- 
cility of  expression,  solid  reasoning,  ardent  passion,  and  the 
tenderness  of  love ;  and  this  happy  assemblage  is  so  min- 
gled, that  it  increases  from  act  to  act :  the  second  surpasses 
the  first ;  the  third  is  superior  to  the  second ;  and  the  last 
exceeds  all  the  others.  The  action  is  single,  great,  and  com- 
plete ;  its  duration  does  not  go  beyond,  or  scarcely  beyond, 
the  representation.  The  subject  is  one  of  the  most  illustrious 
that  can  be  imagined ;  and  the  unity  of  place  is  to  be  met 
with  as  I  indicate  it  in  the  third  of  my  discourses,  and  with 
the  indulgence  which  I  have  requested  for  the  theater."  t 

*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 

t  Pierre  Comeille,  the  celebrated  tragic  poet,  surnamed  the  Father 
of  French  Tragedy,  was  born  at  Rouen,  in  1606.  Educated  by  the 
Jesuits,  he  appeared  at  the  bar,  where  he  was  unsuccessful ;  upon 
which  he  resolved  to  devote  himself  to  poetry.  lie  wrote  the  comedy 
of  McCain  1620;  The  Widow,  The  Palace  Gallery,  The  Lady's  Maid. 
The  Place-Royale,  Clitandra,  &c.  He  took  a  higher  flight  in  his  Me- 
dea, and  laid  the  foundation  of  his  fame  by  The  Cid,  which  was  per- 
formed in  1636.  The  tragedies  of  The  Horaces  and  Cinna,  represented 
in  1639,  revealed  all  the  resources  of  his  genius,  as  well  as  Polyeucte, 
Pompey,  and  Rodogune.  The  tragedies  of  Heraclius,  Sertorius,  and 
Nicodemus  commenced  the  era  of  decline,  consequent  upon  the  old  age 
of  the  Great  Comeille.  Theodosius,  Perthurita,  Attila,  Agesilas,  Pul- 
cheria,  Otho,  Sec.,  were  those  by  which  this  father  of  tragedy  terminated 
his  dramatic  career.  He  also  translated  the  Imitation  of  Jesus  Christ 
into  French  verse.     He  died  in  1684,  Dean  of  the  French  Academy. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  147 

What  Dryden  did  in  England  for  his  patrons,  Corneille 
did  in  his  own  country  for  himself. 

A  short  time  subsequently,  the  troubles  in  England,  which 
had  commenced  during  the  ministiy  of  Richelieu,  had  so 
grievously  increased,  that  the  queen  was  compelled  to  quit 
the  country,  and  to  take  refuge  in  France.  She  disem- 
barked at  Brest ;  but  her  health  was  so  shaken  by  anxiety 
and  suffering,  that  she  found  herself  unable  to  proceed  di- 
rectly to  Paris,  and  consequently  complied  with  the  advice 
of  her  medical  attendants,  who  had  counseled  her  to  try 
the  waters  of  Bourbon.  At  the  close  of  the  season,  when 
she  announced  her  intention  of  joining  the  court,  Mademoi- 
selle was  sent  by  their  majesties  as  far  as  Bourg-la-Reine, 
to  meet  and  welcome  her;  and,  in  her  turn,  was  met  by 
Monsieur,  who  had  already  rejoined  his  royal  and  unhappy 
sister.  As  they  were  about  to  enter  Paris  on  their  return, 
they  encountered  the  king  and  the  queen-regent  a  little  be- 
yond the  faubourg ;  and,  after  a  mutual  salutation,  Henri- 
etta of  England  took  her  seat  in  the  same  carriage  with 
their  majesties,  and  so  proceeded  to  the  Louvre.  Although 
she  had  made  every  exertion  both  to  recover  her  health  and 
to  preserve  her  appearance,  the  overtaxed  strength  of  the 
English  queen  had  failed  under  her  trials,  and  her  faint  and 
faded  countenance  excited  general  sympathy ;  but,  never- 
theless, a  smile  returned  to  her  pale  lips  as  she  received, 
on  the  morrow,  all  the  honors  due  to  a  princess  of  the  blood- 
royal  of  France ;  and  saw  herself  once  more  beneath  the 
roof  of  her  father,  Henry  IV. 

For  a  time  she  maintained  the  state  of  a  sovereign :  her 
court  was  composed  of  numerous  ladies  of  quality,  maids 
of  honor,  guards,  and  footmen ;  but  this  household  grad- 
ually diminished,  and,  in  a  short  time,  nothing  could  form  a 
greater  contrast  to  her  actual  rank  than  her  suite  and  her 
table.*  She  had  fallen  under  the  withering  grasp  of  the 
cardinal-minister.  Mademoiselle  proceeds  to  say,  with 
♦  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


1 48  LCL'IS      XIV.     AND 

the  calm  self-appreciation  peculiar  to  her :  "  I  assiduously 
visited  the  Queen  of  England,  who,  miserable  as  she  was, 
never  wearied  of  the  pleasure  she  took  in  exaggerating  all 
her  past  prosperity,  the  happiness  of  the  life  which  she  had 
led  in  England,  the  beauty  and  goodness  of  that  country, 
the  amusements  in  which  she  had  shared,  and,  above  all, 
the  good  qualities  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  her  son.  She 
wished  that  I  should  see  him,  from  which  I  guessed  her  in- 
tentions ;  and  the  sequel  will  prove  that  I  was  not  deceived 
in  my  judgment."  * 

The  year  1645  opened  with  the  arrest  of  Barillon,t  and 
the  battle  of  Nordlingen,  gained  by  the  Duke  d'Enghien  and 
Marshal  Turenne,|  a  victory  which  not  only  secured  the  inter- 

*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 

+  The  President  Barillon,  sent  a  prisoner  to  Amboise  for  the  remon- 
strances which  he  addressed  to  the  Parliament. 

t  Henry  de  la  Tour-d'Auvergne,  Viscount  de  Turenne,  second  son 
of  Henry  de  la  Tour-d'Auvergne,  Duke  de  Bouillon,  was  born  at  Sedan, 
in  1611,  and  devoted  himself  to  a  military  career.  He  first  served 
under  the  orders  of  Prince  Maurice  of  Orange,  and  was  made  a  cap- 
taiu  in  1626.  In  1634  he  passed  into  the  French  service,  and  obtained 
the  rank  of  lieutenant-general.  In  Italy,  in  1639,  he  raised  the  siege 
of  Casal,  and  was  wounded  at  that  of  Turin,  in  1640.  In  1643  he  be- 
sieged and  took  Trino,  for  which  exploit  he  received  a  marshal's  baton. 
Appointed  commander  of  the  army  of  Germany  in  1644,  he  reestablish- 
ed the  Elector  of  Treves  in  his  possessions;  and  drove  the  Elector  of 
Bavaria  entirely  from  his  states  in  1648.  The  civil  war  having  broken 
out  at  that  period,  the  Duke  de  Bouillon  induced  Turenne  to  join  the 
Parliamentary  party ;  but,  tired  of  fighting  against  his  king,  he  became, 
in  1651,  a  general  of  the  royal  army,  and  overcame  the  forces  of  the 
rebel  princes  commanded  by  Conde,  whom  he  forced  to  repass  the 
Seine,  and  to  retreat.  He  pursued  the  Spaniards  through  Flanders, 
took  from  them  several  fortresses,  and  made  himself  master  of  all  the 
country  between  the  Lys  and  Escaut.  The  peace  of  the  Pyrennees 
terminated  the  war  for  a  time;  but  it  recommenced  in  1667,  and  was 
concluded  by  the  peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle.  Louis  XIV.  having  de- 
clared war  against  Holland  in  1672,  confided  to  Turenne  the  command 
of  his  army.  In  1674,  he  commanded  the  forces  in  Germany,  and  was 
intrusted  to  defend  the  Rhine,  and  to  cover  Alsatia.  He  beat  the 
Imperialists  at  Entzheim,  at  Mulhausen,  and  at  Turkheim.  and  com- 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  149 

ests  of  France  in  Germany,  but  obtained  for  tbe  duke  the 
reputation  never  afterward  forfeited,  of  being  the  first  cap- 
tain of  the  age.  The  news  of  this  success  had  no  sooner 
reached  him,  than  the  cardinal  hastened  to  report  it  to  the 
queen-regent,  who  rose  to  meet  him  with  the  liveliest  ex- 
pressions of  delight ;  but  Mazarin,  far  from  responding  to 
her  self-gratulatory  demonstrations,  retained  his  gravity  of 
countenance  as  he  replied  :  "  Madam,  so  many  individuals 
have  fallen,  that  Your  Majesty  must  not  rejoice  at  this  vic- 
tory."* The  cardinal  had,  indeed,  not  only  a  long  list  of 
the  slain  to  transmit  to  Anne  of  Austria,  but  also  intelli- 
gence of  the  captivity  of  the  Marshal  de  Grammont,  who, 
after  having  made  head  against  a  body  of  the  enemy's 
forces,  and  seen  General  Mercy,  by  whom  it  was  com- 
manded, fall  beneath  his  attack,  at  the  head  of  only  two 
regiments,  had  ultimately  been  made  a  prisoner  after  re- 
ceiving a  severe  and  dangerous  wound.  His  exchange  was 
soon  demanded,  however,  by  the  Duke  d'Enghien,  who,  on 
his  recovery,  was  anxious  to  reclaim  him  ;»and  who  threat- 
ened, should  he  be  detained,  to  send  the  Count  de  Gleen, 
whom  he  had  offered  as  his  ransom,  to  France  ;  but  the 
Elector  conceded  the  point  at  once,  and  the  illustrious  captive 
was  liberated,  after  having  received  every  mark  of  consid- 
eration from  his  gallant  enemies.  Immediately  after  the 
battle  the  Duke  d'Enghien  became  so  seriously  indisposed, 
that  a  courier  at  length  arrived  in  the  capital  with  the  intel- 
ligence that  his  physicians  considered  his  illness  mortal ; 
but  notwithstanding  this  fact,  as  a  pyrotechnic  display  had 
been  prepared  in  honor  of  the  victory,  Cardinal  Mazarin 
determined  not  to  deprive  the  court  of  their  promised  amuse- 

pelled  them  to  repass  the  Rhine  in  1675.  His  enemies  opposed  to 
him  a  rival  worthy  of  his  valor,  in  the  person  of  Montecuculli ;  and  the 
two  generals  were  about  to  come  into  collision,  near  the  village  of 
Sulzbach,  when  Turenne,  while  engaged  in  reconnoitering  the  posi- 
tion of  the  battery,  was  killed  by  a  cannon-ball,  on  the  27th  of  July, 
1G75. 

*   Memoircs  de  Madame  de  Mutteville. 


150  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

merit;  and,  without  reflecting  upon  the  probable  conse- 
quences of  so  glaring  a  demonstration  of  indifference  to  the 
loss  of  a  piince  who  had  invariably  sacrificed  himself  to  the 
interests  of  the  state,  and  who  had,  moreover,  covered  the 
French  arms  with  glory,  he  resolved  not  to  defer  the  re- 
joicings ;  while  so  heedless  did  he  show  himself  even  of  the 
common  rules  of  courtesy  and  feeling,  that  the  fireworks 
were  actually  let  off  opposite  the  hotel  d'Enghien,  in  which 
the  duchess  was  then  residing,  whose  grief  must  necessa- 
rily have  been  increased  tenfold  by  a  want  of  consideration 
insulting  to  herself,  and  the  sounds  of  a  festivity,  built  up,  to 
all  appearance,  upon  the  ruins  of  her  own  happiness.  Her 
sufferings  were,  however,  fortunately  of  short  duration,  for 
news  soon  afterward  arrived  of  the  convalescence  of  the 
conqueror.* 

To  this  victory  succeeded  the  marriage  of  the  Princess 
Marie  de  Gonzaguet  with  the  King  of  Poland ;  and  once 
more  Paris  was  in  commotion. 

Perhaps  we  shall  find  no  opportunity  more  appropriate 
than  that  which  is  presented  by  this  occurrence,  to  give  a 
brief  sketch  of  an  individual  who  played  a  prominent  part 
on  the  occasion,  and  whose  name  is  intimately  linked  with 
the  period  of  the  Fronde. 

John  Francis  Paul  de  Gondi,  afterward  Cardinal  de  Retz, 
was  born  in  1614,  at  Montmirail.  The  nobility  of  his  fam- 
ily was  recent,  but  it  occupied  a  high  rank  in  the  state. 
His  father  (as  already  stated  in  a  note)  had  been  general  of 
the  galleys,  and  afterward  retired  to  the  abbey  of  the  Ora- 
tory ;  but  the  first  of  his  ancestors  who  acquired  celebrity, 
was  Albert,  created  Marshal  of  France  under  Catherine 

*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 

t  Louise-Marie  de  Gonzague,  daughter  of  Charles,  Duke  of  Nevers 
aud  Mantua.  She  was  brought  up  under  the  care  of  Madame  de 
Longueville.  Monsietir  had  sought  to  marry  her,  but  the  alliance  was 
strenuously  opposed  by  the  Queen-Mother.  She  was  afterward  be- 
loved by  the  unfortunate  Cinq-Mars. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  151 

de  Medicis,  who  was  the  son  of  a  Florentine  banker  estab- 
lished at  Lyons.  This  Florentine  blood  made  itself  appa- 
rent in  Paul  de  Crondi,  and  doubtlessly  endowed  him  with 
the  spirit  of  intrigue  which  he  displayed  during  the  Fronde. 
His  education  was  confided  to  Vincent  de  Paule;  but  the 
holy  confessor  of  Anne  of  Austria  had  little  cause  to  con- 
gratulate himself  upon  the  evangelical  progress  of  his  pupil, 
whose  repugnance  for  the  ecclesiastical  profession  led  him 
to  commit  acts  of  the  most  reckless  folly,  and  the  most  im- 
moral nature,  in  the  vain  hope  of  emancipating  himself 
from  the  trammels  of  a  calling  for  which  he  was  conscious 
that  his  tastes,  his  habits,  and  his  principles  had  utterly 
unfitted  him.  The  interest  of  his  family  existing  principally 
in  the  Church,  however,  coupled  with  the  fact  that  he  was 
a  younger  son,  caused  him  to  despair  of  freedom  save 
through  his  own  means  ;  and  in  order  to  obtain  it,  he  reluct- 
antly cast  off  every  scruple,  and  became  a  duelist,  a  roue, 
and  a  conspirator ;  in  which  characters  he  sent  two  chal- 
lenges, endeavored  to  run  away  with  his  own  cousin,  and 
conspired  against  Richelieu.  Finding,  nevertheless,  that 
even  enormities  like  these  still  left  his  gown  upon  his  shoul- 
ders, and  that  he  was  condemned  to  live  and  die  a  church- 
man, he  had  too  much  energy  of  character  to  sink  into 
insignificance,  and  he  consequently  resolved  to  distinguish 
himself  in  the  career  which  had  been  marked  out  for  him. 
He  forthwith  studied  diligently  and  successfully,  distin- 
guished himself  by  his  erudition,  and  after  some  public 
conferences  with  a  Protestant  controversialist,  converted 
his  opponent  to  the  faith  of  Rome.  This  conversion  acquir- 
ed for  him  considerable  celebrity ;  and  as  we  have  already 
seen,  Louis  XIII.,  on  his  death-bed,  appointed  him  Coad- 
jutor of  Paris.  He  became  a  fashionable  preacher ;  but 
his  eloquence  must  have  been  more  admirable  than  the 
subject-matter  of  his  sermons,  those  which  remain  in  the 
MS.  in  the  royal  library  being  of  very  questionable  merit. 
Like  many  other  influential  persons  of  the  time,  he  displayed 


152  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

little  moral  worth,  changing  his  party  in  accordance  with 
his  personal  interest.  His  great  object  was  a  rivalry  with 
Mazarin,  and  in  order  to  effect  this  he  did  not  confine  himself 
to  a  mei'e  endeavor  to  obtain  the  popular  suffrages,  but  even 
had  the  boldness  to  attempt  to  supersede  the  cardinal  in 
the  affections  of  the  queen-regent.  His  double  failure  is 
matter  of  histoiy.  The  Cardinal  de  Retz,  despite  his  tem- 
porary importance  in  both  parties,  found  his  influence  at  an 
end  on  the  reconciliation  of  the  two  factions ;  and  as  he 
had  lost  ground  despite  his  intrigues,  although  he  had  at 
one  time  held  the  destinies  of  the  monarchy  in  his  hands, 
he  was  suddenly  consigned  to  the  Bastille,  and  thence 
transferred  to  Nantes,  whence  he  escaped,  with  every  pros- 
pect of  once  more  swaying  the  public  mind ;  but  being  a 
bad  horseman  he  fell  during  his  flight,  dislocated  his  shoul- 
der, and  was  compelled  to  abandon  the  theater  of  his  glory. 
He  passed  the  remainder  of  his  active  life  in  wandering 
over  Europe ;  endeavoring  in  Spain,  Italy,  and  Holland,  to 
create  new  intrigues  ;  and,  if  report  may  be  believed,  soil- 
ing his  holy  office,  and  the  Romish  purple,  which  he  had 
acquired  "  almost  by  surprise,"  by  vulgar  debauch.  Nev- 
ertheless, he  i-endered  a  great  and  solid  service  to  his 
country,  by  energetically  sustaining  its  interests  in  the  con- 
clave during  his  exile,  and  securing  the  election  of  Alexan- 
der VII. ;  an  act  of  loyalty  which  once  more  opened  to 
him  the  gates  of  France.  Banishment  had  not,  however, 
changed  his  character ;  and  he  refused  not  only  to  the  all- 
powerful  minister,  but  also  to  the  solicitation  of  the  king, 
to  retire  from  his  episcopal  seat ;  but  after  the  death  of 
Mazarin  he  consented  to  exchange  the  archbishopric  of 
Paris  for  the  abbey  of  St.  Denis.  Thenceforward  he  aban- 
doned politics,  and  professed  no  interest  in  matters  uncon- 
nected with  religion.  His  last  act  of  subtilty  was  an  offer 
which  he  made  to  resign  the  cardinal's  hat  bestowed  upon 
him  during  the  Fronde,  and  to  retire  into  a  Carthusian 
monastery;  but  the  project  was  negatived  by  the  Pope; 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  153 

and  there  exists  strong  reason  for  suspicion  that  this  appa- 
rent self-abnegation  was  a  mere  pretext  for  ascertaining 
the  feeling  of  Louis  XIV.  toward  him  ;  and  that  while  the 
self-sacrificing  recluse  was  laying  his  renunciation  at  the 
feet  of  the  king,  who  received  it  very  willingly,  he  had 
forewarned  the  court  of  Rome  not  to  take  him  at  his  word. 
From  that  period  he  devoted  himself  entirely  to  his  religious 
duties,  and  to  the  liquidation  of  the  debts  which  he  had 
contracted  during  the  Fronde.  His  principal  work  was 
the  memoirs  of  his  life,  from  which  we  have  already  quoted 
a  few  passages  ;  and  the  history  of  this  production  is  suffi- 
ciently singular  to  merit  mention.  He  confided  the  MS. 
on  his  death-bed  to  an  Abbe,  who  was  his  friend,  requesting 
him  to  strike  out  whatever  might  tend  to  injure  his  reputa- 
tion ;  and  this  person  erased  a  considerable  number  of  pass- 
ages, all  relating  to  affairs  of  gallantry,  in  which  the  cardinal 
had  been  engaged  in  early  life.  A  second  MS.  had  been, 
it  is  said,  placed  in  the  hands  of  some  nuns,  and  it  is  proba- 
ble that  they  were  at  least  equally  severe.  A  third  MS., 
more  complete  than  either  of  the  preceding,  was  preserved 
in  the  archives  of  Epinal,  whence  it  was  withdrawn  by 
order  of  the  Directoiy,  and  confided  to  the  citizen  (after- 
ward Count)  de  Real  for  publication.  M.  Real,  however, 
never  published  it ;  he  preserved  the  MS.,  and  even  took  it 
with  him  into  exile  ;  but  it  was  only  after  his  death  that  it 
was  deposited  in  the  royal  library.* 

During  his  latter  years,  whenever  his  personal  inter- 
ests, or  the  affairs  of  the  church,  drew  him  to  Paris,  he 
passed  all  his  leisure  hours  in  the  society  of  Madame  de 
Sevigne,  whose  affection  for  him  was  so  great  that  she 
never  could  be  induced  to  admit  his  faults  ;  and  the  last 
days  of  his  existence  were  embellished  by  a  friendship 
which  she  has  immortalized  in  her  imperishable  letters. 

Return  we  now  to  the  royal  marriage,  from  which  we 
have  so  lonoc  digressed.  The  Palatine  of  Posnania  and  the 
*  Geruzez,  Notice  sur  le  Cardinal  de  Retz. 


151  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

Bishop  of  Warmia  had  been  chosen  by  the  King  Wladislas 
VII.  as  his  proxies  to  espouse  the  Princess  Marie;  and 
the  Duke  d'Elbceuf  was  dispatched  by  the  queen-regent, 
with  a  dozen  persons  of  rank,  and  the  carnages  of  the 
king,  the  Duke  d'Orleans,  and  the  cardinal,  to  receive 
them  at  the  Porte  St.  Antoine. 

The  cortege  of  the  ambassadors  was  composed,  first  of 
a  company  of  foot-guards,  dressed  in  the  oriental  style,  and 
commanded  by  officers  splendidly  attired  and  mounted, 
whose  vests  and  mantles  were  enriched  with  rubies,  dia- 
monds, and  pearls;  these  were  followed  by  two  troops  of 
horse,  in  the  same  uniforms  as  the  preceding,  but  formed 
of  richer  stuffs,  and  having  the  caparisons  of  their  chargers 
covered  with  precious  stones ;  and  in  the  rear  of  these 
glittering  cavaliers  rode  the  French  Academistes,*  "  who," 
says  Madame  de  Motteville,  "to  do  honor  to  the  ambas- 
sador and  dishonor  to  France,  had  gone  out  to  meet 
them ;"  and  whose  horses,  covered  with  ribbons  and 
feathers,  looked  poor  and  paltry  beside  the  Polish  char- 
gers, covered  with  embroidered  housings,  and  surcharged 
with  jewels.  Nor  did  the  carnages  of  the  king  fare 
better  than  his  escort,  when  brought  into  contact  with 
those  of  the  ambassadors,  of  which  portions  were  formed 
of  massive  silver,  where  those  of  France  were  only  made 
of  iron.  Next  in  order  came  the  Polish  nobles,  clad  in 
gold  and  silver  brocade,  each  with  his  train  and  livery  ; 
the  rich  stuffs  in  which  they  were  habited,  the  resplendent 
colors  of  which  they  were  composed,  and  the  str-eam  of 
diamonds  which  covered  their  whole  costume,  were  so 
dazzling,  that  the  ladies  of  the  court  were  lost  in  aston- 
ishment and  admiration ;  and  compelled  to  admit,  that, 
save  at  the  entry  of  Buckingham  into  the  capital,  twenty 
years  previously,  nothing  so  magnificent  had  ever  been 
seen   in   the   French  metropolis.     Each   of  these   Polish 

*  A  name  given,  at  that  period,  to  those  who  organized  and  con- 
trolled the  royal  stud. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  155 

nobles    had    at    his    side   a  nobleman   of  the    court,   who 
accompanied    him    as    a    mark    of  honor.      But    all    this 
pageant,  brilliant  as  it  was,  was  eclipsed  by  the  appear- 
ance of  the  envoys  themselves,  who  followed  close  after 
the  Sieur  de  Belize,  the  master  of  the  ceremonies.     The 
Bishop  of  Warmia,  draped  in  rich  watered  silk  of  a  violet 
color,  with   a  hat  whence  depended   a   cord  of  gold  en- 
riched with  diamonds,  was  on  his  right;  and  on  his  left 
the  Palatine  of  Posnania,  dressed  in  gold  brocade,  covered 
with  precious  stones  ;  having  his  cimiter,  his  poniard,  and 
his  spurs  incrusted  with  turquoises,  rubies,  and  diamonds, 
and  his  horse's  saddle  and  housings  of  cloth  of  gold  ;  while 
the  animal  was  also  shod  with  gold  so  insecurely,  that  long 
ere  he  reached  the  palace  its  shoes  had  become  detached.* 
The  contrast  of  the  comparative  squalor  of  their  recep- 
tion must  have  produced  a  disagreeable  effect  upon  the 
minds   of  these    magnificent    representatives    of  majesty ; 
for  although  by  the   time  they  had  traversed  the  streets 
of  Paris  and  reached  the  palace  the  night  had  fallen,  and 
that  at  this  period  the  streets  of  the  capital  were,  as  we 
have  stated  elsewhere,  totally  unlighted,  there  were  neither 
torches  nor  flambeaux  to  illuminate  their  march ;  and  al- 
though the  king   and  the   queen-regent,   the  princes,    the 
princesses,  and  the  ladies  and  nobles  of  the   court,  were 
assembled  on  the  balconies   to  witness   their  entrance,  it 
was  merely  a  matter  of  ceremony,  as  they  were  unable  to 
distinguish  any  thing ;  while  the  Poles,  on  their  side,  com- 
plained of  the  omission  ;   and  when  M.  de  Liancourt,  the 
first   gentleman    of  the    chamber,    appeared    to    welcome 
them,  they  caused  a  request  to  be  tendered  to  the  regent, 
that  on  the  occasion  of  their  first  audience  they  might  be 
received  in  the  same  order  as  they  had  entered  the  city ; 
and  this  favor  was,   of  course,   at  once   conceded.     The 
Hotel  Vendome,  vacant  by  the  exile  of  its  masters,  was 
appropriated  as  their  residence. 

*   Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


150  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Fontainebleau — The  Polish  Envoys — The  Forest — Darkness  in  a  Pal- 
ace— Anger  of  the  Regent — A  Quarrel  on  Etiquet — The  Coadjutor 
of  Paris — A  mistaken  Word — Reconciliation  between  the  Cardinal 
and  the  Coadjutor — Threat  to  the  Queen  of  Poland — The  Marriage — 
Munificence  of  Anne  of  Austria — The  King  and  his  Brother — Pre- 
cocity of  Louis  XIV. — Effeminacy  of  Philip  d'Anjou — A  Court-Ball — 
The  first  Campaign  of  Louis  XIV. — Mademoiselle  and  the  Emperor 
of  Germany — Death  of  the  Marshal  de  Bassompierre — Feud  between 
the  Regent  and  the  Parliament — Revolt  of  the  United  Provinces — 
The  Duke  de  Guise  at  Naples;  his  Capture  at  Capua — Mademoiselle 
and  the  Prince  of  Wales — Illness  of  the  King — The  Family  of  Maza- 
rin — Revolt  of  the  Parisians — Richelieu  versus  Mazarin — M.  d' Emery 
— Paris  under  Anns — Arrogance  of  the  Queen-Regent — The  King  at 
N6tre  Dame — Dissensions  in  the  Parliament — The  new  Edicts — Dec- 
laration of  the  Regent — Opposition  of  the  Corporate  Bodie9 — A  new 
Leader. 

The  palace  of  Fontainebleau,  in  which  the  queen-regent 
decided  upon  receiving  the  Polish  Envoys,  on  the  day 
fixed  for  the  signature  of  the  marriage-contract,  was  at 
that  period  in  all  the  pride  of  its  regality.  The  vast  and 
majestic  pile,  seated  in  a  forest  extending  over  a  surface 
of  25,975  arpens,  and  in  itself  a  model  of  architectural 
beauty,  was  well  calculated  to  produce  a  fitting  impres- 
sion upon  the  minds  of  these  magnificent  strangers ;  and 
Anne  of  Austria,  resolved  to  follow  up  the  external  ad- 
vantage thus  gained,  gave  orders  that  a  grand  supper 
should  be  prepared ;  but  when  the  hour  for  the  repast 
arrived,  states  Madame  de  Motteville,  the  queen  was  told 
that  there  had  been  a  disagreement  among  the  officers  of 
the  kitchen,  and   that  the  first  course  had  failed.     More- 


THE     COURT      OF     FRANCE.  157 

over,  so  little  order  had  been  observed,  and  so  little 
preparation  made,  that  when  the  sumptuous  foreigners, 
who  had  been  the  gaze  of  all  ranks  in  Pans,  as  speci- 
mens of  oriental  luxury,  had  taken  leave,  and  were  about 
to  depart,  it  was  discovered  that  the  apartments  through 
which  they  must  pass  before  they  could  reach  the  great 
stair-case,  were  in  utter  darkness  ;  and  they  were  com- 
pelled to  grope  their  way  as  best  they  might. 

The  anger  of  the  regent  was  extreme,  but  the  evil  was 
beyond  remedy ;  and  the  court  of  France,  which  already 
loved  to  consider  itself  as  the  most  polished  and  correct 
in  Europe,  was  ruined  forever  in  the  estimation  of  a 
comparatively  barbarous  state.  Anne  of  Austria  felt  this 
humiliating  fact  the  more  deeply,  that  she  had  been  reared 
amid  the  punctilious  etiquet  of  Spanish  ceremony ;  and 
in  a  court  irrigated  by  streams  of  gold  and  jewels,  the 
produce  of  both  the  Indies.  But  once  more  the  avarice 
of  Mazarin  had  triumphed  over  his  sense  of  what  he  owed 
to  the  country  which  he  governed,  and  the  young  king 
whom  he  dishonored.  When  signing  the  marriage-con- 
tract, the  Bishop  of  Warmia  had  expressed  a  wish  to 
perform  the  ceremony  in  the  cathedral  of  Notre  Dame, 
and,  accordingly,  Saintot,  deputy -master  of  the  ceremonies, 
was  sent  thither  with  a  letter  containing  an  order  to  the 
coadjutor  (the  Abbe  de  Retz),  to  have  the  cathedral  pre- 
pared for  the  bishop,  "  in  the  same  terms,"  says  De  Retz 
himself,  "  in  which  they  would  have  ordered  a  municipal 
magistrate  to  prepare  the  town-hall  for  a  ballet."  It  so 
chanced  that  the  archbishop  had  left  the  capital  for  Anjou, 
only  the  previous  day;  and  the  coadjutor,  aware  that  the 
archbishops  and  bishops  of  Paris  had  never  ceded  their 
right  to  perform  ceremonies  of  this  description  in  their 
own  churches,  save  to  cardinals  of  the  royal  house,  and 
that  his  uncle  had  been  severely  blamed  by  all  the  clergy, 
for  having  permitted  the  Cardinal  de  la  Rochefoucault  to 
marry  the  Queen   of  England  in  his   cathedral,  at  once 


1 58  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

communicated  the  contents  of  the  letter  to  the  dean  and 
canons  who  were  with  him,  telling  them  at  the  same  time, 
that  he  had  no  doubt  of  its  being  the  blunder  of  some 
clerk  in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  state  ;  and  that  he 
would  start  in  the  morning  for  Fontainebleau,  where  the 
court  were  then  residing,  and  have  the  mistake  cleared  up. 
Declining  their  pressing  request  to  accompany  him  upon 
this  errand,  he  next  waited  upon  the  cardinal,  and  offered 
an  expostulation,  alledging  his  reasons,  and  requesting 
that  he  would  make  them  acceptable  to  the  regent;  but 
although  evidently  impressed  by  the  arguments  of  the 
coadjutor,  Mazarin  nevertheless  maintained  his  point ; 
and  on  being  reminded  by  De  Retz  that  he  was  uttering 
the  sentiments  of  the  archbishop  and  all  the  clergy  of 
Paris,  as  well  as  his  own,  the  cardinal  lost  his  temper, 
and  terminated  the  interview  abruptly  and  uncivilly,  by 
referring  his  visitor  to  the  queen.  With  her  the  coadjutor 
fared  no  better  than  with  her  minister ;  she  listened  dryly 
and  angrily,  and  only  replied  that  she  would  give  audience 
to  the  chapter,  without  which  he  assured  her  that  he 
neither  could  nor  ought  to  come  to  any  decision. 

The  chapter  was  instantly  summoned,  and  the  dean  ar- 
rived on  the  following  day,  with  sixteen  deputies.  They 
Avere  presented  by  the  coadjutor,  and  they  argued  the 
disputed  point  calmly  and  forcibly.  The  queen  desired 
them  to  see  the  cardinal,  "  who,  to  tell  the  truth,"  says 
De  Retz,  "uttered  nothing  to  us  but  absurdities;"  and, 
as  he  was  still  a  very  imperfect  French  scholar,  and  by  no 
means  aware  of  the  exact  force  of  the  words  which  he 
employed,  he  terminated  his  answer  by  telling  the  coad- 
jutor that  he  had,  on  the  previous  evening,  talked  to  him 
very  insolently.  De  Retz  replied  only  by  a  quiet  smile  ; 
and  then,  turning  to  the  deputies,  said,  calmly,  "Gen- 
tlemen, the  word  is  amusing."  Offended  by  the  smile, 
the  cardinal  demanded,  in  a  high  key,  "  Who  do  you  sup- 
pose you  are  talking  with  1     I  will  teach  you  how  to  con- 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  159 

duct  yourself."  The  temper  of  De  Retz  gave  way  before 
this  intemperance,  and  he  replied  that  he  was  individually 
quite  aware  it  was  the  coadjutor  of  Paris  who  was  talking 
to  the  Cardinal  Mazarin  ;  but  that  it  would  appear  as 
though  His  Eminence  believed  himself  to  be  the  Cardinal 
of  Lorraine,  speaking  of  the  suffragan  of  Metz.  After 
this  explosion  of  anger  on  either  side  they  parted ;  and 
the  deputation  had  commenced  preparation  for  their  re- 
turn to  Paris,  when  the  Marshal  d'Estrees  was  announced, 
whose  errand  was  to  entreat  of  the  coadjutor  not  to  take 
serious  umbrage  at  what  had  passed,  as  every  thing  might 
be  arranged ;  and  at  length,  finding  that  his  advice  was 
disregarded,  he  was  compelled  to  admit  that  his  visit  had 
been  suggested  by  the  queen,  from  whom  he  brought  an 
order  that  the  coadjutor  should  wait  upon  her. 

The  Abbe  de  Retz  did  not  hesitate,  but  at  once  obeyed 
the  royal  summons,  taking  the  deputation  along  with 
him ;  and  they  found  Anne  of  Austria  considerably  more 
amenable  and  condescending  than  on  the  occasion  of 
their  first  interview.  She  informed  the  coadjutor  that 
she  had  desired  to  see  him,  less  on  the  subject  of 
the  marriage  ceremony,  than  to  reprimand  him  for  the 
manner  in  which  he  had  spoken  to  the  poor  cardinal, 
who  was  as  gentle  as  a  lamb,  and  who  loved  him  as 
though  he  were  his  own  son.  She  then  added  several 
flattering  remarks ;  and  ultimately  desired  the  dean  and 
deputies  to  attend  the  Abbe  de  Retz  to  the  minister, 
in  order  that  they  might  mutually  decide  on  the  steps 
necessary  to  be  taken.  The  coadjutor  made  some  oppo- 
sition to  this  suggestion  ;  and  when  he  ultimately  yielded, 
did  so,  as  he  declared,  entii'ely  to  oblige  her  majesty. 
Mazarin  received  the  deputation  with  even  more  courtesy 
than  his  royal  mistress,  and  made  a  thousand  excuses  for 
his  use  of  the  word  insolently,  when,  as  he  declared,  he 
had  simply  purposed  to  say  insolito.  The  difficulty  was 
not,  however,  yet  over ;   though,  on   his  return  to   Paris, 


160  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

the  Abbe  de  Retz  received  a  letter  from  his  uncle,  the 
archbishop,  desiring  him  to  offer  no  opposition  to  the 
wishes  of  the  Polish  prelate,  but  to  allow  him  to  perform 
the  marriage  ceremony ;  for  the  coadjutor,  convinced  that 
he  was  indebted  for  the  somewhat  tardy  courtesy  with 
which  he  had  ultimately  been  treated  at  Fontainebleau, 
merely  to  a  desire  on  the  part  of  the  court  to  gain  time  to 
communicate  with  M.  de  Paris  himself,  once  more  con- 
vened the  chapter ;  and  their  definitive  resolution  was,  that 
the  archbishop  was  at  liberty  to  dispose  as  he  saw  fit  of 
the  nave  of  the  cathedral,  but  that  the  chasur  appertained 
to  the  chapter,  who  would  never  cede  it,  save  to  M.  de 
Paris,  or  to  his  coadjutor. 

The  cardinal  at  once  understood  the  true  meaning  of  this 
empty  distinction,  and  decided  that  the  marriage  should 
take  place  in  the  chapel  of  the  Palais  Royal,  of  which  he 
asserted  the  grand  almoner  was  the  curate ;  but  here  again 
the  pertinacious  coadjutor  interfered  and  wrote  to  expostu- 
late. The  minister,  however,  merely  laughed  at  the  letter  ; 
and  the  Abbe  de  Retz,  without  further  hesitation,  repre- 
sented to  the  future  Queen  of  Poland,  that  if  she  consented 
to  be  married  in  so  irregular  a  manner,  he  should  feel  com- 
pelled to  declare  her  marriage  invalid,  unless  the  ceremony 
was  performed  in  the  Palais  Royal  itself,  and  that  the  Bishop 
of  Warmia  should  previously  wait  upon  him  to  receive  his 
permission  in  writing.  The  poor  princess,  terrified  by  this 
threat,  and  aware  that  there  wTas  not  sufficient  time  to  send 
for  a  new  license  from  Antwerp,  induced  the  court  to  com- 
ply ;  the  proposition  of  the  coadjutor  was  accepted,  and  the 
marriage  took  place.* 

We  have  recorded  this  circumstance  because  it  appears 
to  us  to  throw  considerable  light  upon  the  customs,  feelings, 
and  prejudices  of  the  time.  Its  result  was  null,  save  as 
regarded  the  coadjutor  himself,  who  fell  into  disfavor  with 
the  court  for  the  hyper-tenacity  with  which  he  had  de- 
*  Memoires  du  Cardinal  de  Retz. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  161 

fended  his  privileges ;  while  he  acquired,  at  the  same  time, 
an  extended  influence  over  the  clergy  of  the  diocese. 
The  royal  marriage  was  solemnized  on  the  6th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1645;  the  Bishop  of  Warmia  celebrating  the  mass, 
and  the  Count  Palatine  Opalinski  acting  as  sponsor  for  his 
sovereign. 

Anne  of  Austria  behaved  most  regally  on  the  occasion, 
treating  the  Princess  Marie  like  a  daughter,  and  bestowing 
upon  her  a  dowry  of  700,000  crowns ;  and,  what  produced 
still  more  effect  upon  the  court,  giving  her  precedence  over 
herself  throughout  the  evening  of  her  marriage.  The  two 
following  days  were  devoted  to  festivity,  and  then  the  newly 
made  bride  left  the  capital  to  join  her  royal  husband,  attend- 
ed by  Madame  de  Guebriant,  who  was  indebted  for  this 
honor  to  the  fact  that  the  marshal,  her  husband,  had  been 
killed  two  years  previously  at  Rottveil. 

Meanwhile,  Louis  XIV.  had  completed  his  seventh  year, 
and  Philip,  Duke  d'Anjou,  his  sixth  ;  and  Mazarin,  with 
the  sanction  of  the  queen-regent,  had  so  directed  their 
tastes,  as  to  render  the  first  manly,  and  the  second  effemi- 
nate. The  young  king  was  tall,  flexible,  and  muscular, 
and  made  rapid  pi-ogress  in  all  physical  exercises ;  but  his 
mind  remained,  thanks  to  the  caution  of  the  cardinal,  almost 
a  blank.  Already  serious  and  self-confident,  he  inspired 
respect  at  an  age  when  children  usually  can  do  no  more 
than  please ;  while  Philip  attracted  in  an  equal  degree  by 
the  amability  of  his  disposition.  While  Louis  was  engaged 
in  manly  pursuits,  the  Duke  d'Anjou  was,  on  the  contrary, 
encouraged  by  the  queen  to  dress  himself  in  a  female  cos- 
tume, and  even  to  show  himself  in  that  state  in  public, 
surrounded  by  a  bevy  of  young  courtiers,  in  the  same 
unseemly  masquerade.  The  tastes  of  Philip  were  thus 
rendered  vain,  frivolous,  and  ignoble,  at  the  same  time 
that  his  elder  brother  was  encouraged  to  "play  the  king" 
betimes  ;  but,  nevertheless,  lest  he  should  "  escape  from  his 
leading-strings,"  the  cai'dinal  was  still  careful  to  surround 


1 G2  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

•him  with  amusements  calculated  to  convey  a  feeling  of  de- 
pendence.* 

That  both  the  princes  were,  however,  equally  accom- 
plished even  at  this  early  age,  in  the  courtly  grace  required 
by  their  exalted  rank,  is  manifest  in  the  account  given  by  a 
writer  of  the  period,  of  their  bearing  at  the  marriage  festiv- 
ities of  the  Princess  Marie.  "  The  king,"  says  the  chroni- 
cler in  question,  "  with  the  gracefulness  which  shines  in  all 
his  actions,  took  the  hand  of  the  Queen  of  Poland,  and 
conducted  her  to  the  platform  where  his  majesty  opened 
the  branle,]  and  was  followed  by  nearly  all  the  princes, 
princesses,  great  nobles,  and  ladies  of  the  court.  At  its 
termination,  the  king,  with  the  same  grace  and  majestic 
deportment,  conducted  the  young  queen  to  her  place  ;  and 
seated  himself  beside  the  Duke  d'Anjou,  to  see  the  couran- 
tes\  executed.  These  were  led  by  the  Duke  d'Enghien,  as 
gentle  in  the  dance  as  he  was  rough  in  battle  ;  and  composed 
of  the  remaining  nobles  and  ladies.  The  king  then  danced 
a  second  time ;  and  led  out  the  Duke  d'Anjou  with  such 
skill,  that  every  one  was  charmed  with  the  polite  bearing 
of  these  two  young  princes." 

The  beginning  of  the  year  1646  was  rendered  memorable 
by  what  was  called  the  first  campaign  of  the  king.  The 
design  of  this  campaign  was  to  revenge  on  Flanders  cer- 
tain reverses  experienced  in  Italy.  A  council  was  held  at 
Liancourt,  where  the  Duke  d'Orleans,  Cardinal  Mazarin, 
and    Marshal  Gassion,§  determined  the   plan  of  the   cam- 

*  Memoires  du  Due  de  Saint  Simon. 

t  A  dance,  very  popular  in  France  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries.  It  was  performed  in  two  different  ways;  the  one,  which 
was  an  importation  from  Poitou,  was  very  rapid,  a  species  of  jig.  and 
was  danced  in  a  circle ;  the  other,  which  was  considerably  more  stately, 
was  an  adoption  from  Brittany. 

X  A  dance  formerly  popular  at  the  French  court,  but  which  has  en- 
tirely fallen  into  disuse. 

(j  John  de  Gassion,  Marshal  of  France,  was  born  at  Fau,  in  1609,  and 
died  at  Arras,  in  consequence  of  a  wound  received  at  the  siege  of  Sens, 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  163 

paign  ;*  after  which  the  Duke  d'Enghien  proceeded  to  Com- 
piegne  to  take  leave  of  their  majesties,  before  he  joined  the 
army  in  Champagne ;  and  a  few  days  subsequently  Monsieur 
also  arrived  at  court,  where  he  did  not  long  remain,  but 
continued  his  route  to  Amiens,  at  the  desire  of  the  king 
and  the  queen-regent ;  who  were  anxious  that  he  should 
precede  Louis  XIV.  to  that  city,  where  he  was  about  to 
take  up  his  residence  during  the  operations.  The  court 
was,  however,  brilliant  during  his  temporary  sojourn,  as  he 
was  accompanied  by  all  the  young  men  of  quality  who 
were  to  share  in  the  campaign,  and  who  were  already  equip- 
ped for  service.t 

Louis  XIV.  had  not  yet  attained  his  eighth  year,  and  as  the 
queen  had  determined  not  to  allow  him  to  leave  her  side,  it 
had  consequently  been  considered  expedient  that  he  should 
not  proceed  farther  than  Amiens.  Preparations  were  ac- 
cordingly made  in  that  city  for  the  reception  of  the  court ; 
and  on  the  day  succeeding  its  arrival  there,  the  queen-re- 
gent received  intelligence  of  the  death  of  her  sister,  the 
Empress  of  Germany;  upon  which  the  Abbe  de  la  RiviereJ 
lost  no  time  in  representing  to  Mademoiselle  that  it  would 
be  advisable  for  her  to  many  the  emperor ;  but  afterwaid 
recalling  his  words,  he  remarked  that  too  much  time  must 
elapse  before  that  alliance  could  take  place ;  and  that  as 
the  Archduke  Leopold  was  about  to  proceed  to  Flanders, 
it  would  be  better  to  make  him  a  sovereign  prince,  and 
to  bestow  her  hand  upon  him.  To  this  suggestion  Made- 
moiselle, however,  at  once  declared  that  she  should  prefer 

in  1647.  He  first  served  under  Gustavus  Adolphus,  king  of  Sweden, 
and  contributed  to  the  victory  of  Leipzig.  After  the  death  of  that 
monarch,  in  1632,  he  returned  to  France,  and  distinguished  himself  at 
the  battle  of  Rocroy.  Wounded  at  the  taking  of  Thionville,  he  receiv- 
ed, in  compensation,  the  baton  of  a  marshal  in  1643,  and  continued  to 
give  proofs  of  his  valor  at  Gravelines,  Mardick,  Linck,  Bourbourg,  Be- 
thune,  Saint-Venant,  &c.  *   Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 

t    Me.moires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 

+  The  confidant  and  favorite  of  the  Duke  d'Orleaus. 


161  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

the  emperor  ;  but  she  was  not  fated  to  become  the  wife  of 
either.* 

When  the  army  left  Amiens  to  besiege  Courtray,  the 
campaign  of  Louis  was  over;  and  he  returned  to  Paris  to 
await  the  surrender  of  the  city,  which  was  delayed  for  a 
considerable  time,  although  the  Duke  d'Orleans  was  at  the 
head  of  a  large  force,  the  Duke  d'Enghien  having  joined 
him  with  the  troops  under  his  command.  The  Spaniards 
were  also  strong  in  numbers  during  the  campaign,  and  were 
commanded  by  the  Marquis  of  Caracane,  who  had  the  Duke 
of  Lorraine  as  his  ally ;  and  consequently  the  French  sol- 
diery were,  in  some  degree,  themselves  in  a  state  of  siege 
when  they  sat  down  befoi-e  Courtray ;  a  circumstance  which 
was  entirely  attributable  to  the  negligence  of  Mazaiin,  who 
was  improvident  enough  to  leave  the  troops  unprovided 
alike  with  ammunition  and  provisions,  to  such  an  ex- 
treme, that,  when  the  city  surrendered,  the  besiegers  had 
exhausted  all  their  powder  and  ball.  From  that  time  both 
Monsieur  and  the  Duke  d'Enghien  lost  all  confidence  in  the 
minister  ;  nor  did  they  subsequently  see  cause  to  alter  their 
opinion. t 

At  the  close  of  this  year  died  the  Marshal  de  Bassom- 
pierre  ;  and  he  was  shortly  followed  to  the  grave  by  the 
Prince  de  Conde,  the  father  of  the  Duke  d'Enghien,  who 
thenceforth  assumed  the  title  of  the  Prince  de  Conde,  or 
simply  of  The  Prince. 

Time  progressed,  and  the  war  continued ;  while  the 
hatred  which  had  grown  up  between  the  queen-regent  and 
the  Parliament,  which  had  made  many  abortive  attempts 
to  limit  the  absolute  power  that  she  arrogated  to  herself, 
became  daily  more  virulent.  The  United  Provinces  had 
thrown  off  their  allegiance  to  France,  at  the  instigation  of 
Spain ;  the  Piince  de  Conde  had  succeeded  the  Count 
d'Harcourt  in  the  command  of  the  army  in  that  country, 
and  had  been  repulsed   before   Lerida ;  Marshal  Gassion 

*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier.  t  Idem. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  165 

had  been  wounded  at  Sens,  and  had  died  of  his  wounds ; 
and  finally,  Naples  had  revolted  at  the  signal  of  Massaniel- 
lo ;  and  all  the  petty  princes  of  Italy  were  anxious  to  obtain 
the  crown  which  had  slipped  from  the  brow  of  the  fisher- 
man, which  was  also  coveted  by  the  Duke  de  Guise,  who 
chanced  to  be  at  Rome  when  the  news  of  Massaniello's 
death  arrived;  and  who,  remembering  that  Yolande  d'Anjou, 
the  daughter  of  the  King  Rene  of  Naples,  had  married  one 
of  his  ancestors,  immediately  wrote  to  the  rebel  chiefs,  to  in- 
form them  that  he  who  had  Neapolitan  blood  in  his  veins,  and 
was  then  at  Rome,  offered  himself  as  their  sovereign.  At 
the  same  time  he  dispatched  a  courier  to  the  court  of  France 
with  letters  to  the  king,  the  regent,  and  the  cardinal,  in 
which  he  announced  to  them  that  the  vice-royalty  of  Naples 
having  become  vacant,  he  was  about  to  take  possession  of 
it;  and  should  thus  be  enabled  to  act  against  Spain,  and  to 
further  the  interests  of  the  war. 

This  project  was,  however,  received  with  indifference, 
and  declared  to  be  a  mere  harebrained  extravagance  ;  and 
it  is  certain  that  all  the  resources  of  the  duke  at  that  moment 
consisted  of  four  thousand  gold  crowns,  and  his  army  of 
six  gentlemen  attached  to  his  household.  Nevertheless,  he 
wore  the  sword  of  his  ancestor  Francis,  and  in  his  breast 
the  heart  of  his  grandfather,  Henry  IV.  On  the  11th  of 
November  he  left  Rome  in  a  fishing-boat,  and  eight  days 
afterward  he  wrote  to  Cardinal  Mazarin  : 

"  I  have  succeeded,  Monseigneur ;  I  am  Sovereign-duke 
of  the  republic  of  Naples ;  but  I  have  found  every  thing 
here  in  such  disorder,  and  in  such  confusion,  that  without 
powerful  assistance  it  will  be  difficult  for  me  to  maintain  my 
position." 

The  appeal  was,    however,  disregarded ;    and    Mazarin 

abandoned  M.  de  Guise,  who  two  months  subsequently  was 

taken  prisoner  by  the  Spaniards  at  Capua.*     Meanwhile, 

the  disaffection  having  increased  in  England,  the  king  sent 

*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


1Gb'  LOUIS     XIV.      AXD 

his  son,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  to  France,  in  order  to  secure 
his  safety.  The  court  was  at  Fontainebleau  on  his  arrival ; 
and  his  reception  was  most  gratifying.  Their  majesties 
went  as  far  as  the  forest  to  meet  him,  and  the  Queen  of 
England  presented  him  in  succession  to  the  king,  the  queen- 
regent,  the  Princess  de  Conde,  and  Mademoiselle.  "  He 
was,"  says  the  latter,  "  only  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  of 
age  ;  rather  tall,  with  a  fine  head,  black  hair,  a  dark  complex- 
ion, and  a  tolerably  agreeable  countenance  ;  but  he  neither 
spoke  nor  understood  French,  which  was  very  inconvenient. 
Nevertheless  every  thing  was  done  to  amuse  him ;  and 
during  the  three  days  that  he  remained  at  Fontainebleau 
there  were  hunts,  and  every  other  sport  which  could  be 
commanded  in  that  season.  He  paid  his  respects  to  all  the 
princesses ;  and  I  discovered  immediately  that  the  Queen 
of  England  wished  to  persuade  me  that  he  had  fallen  in  love 
with  me ;  she  told  me  that  he  talked  of  me  incessantly  ; 
that,  were  she  not  to  prevent  it,  he  would  be  in  my  apart- 
ments at  all  hours ;  that  he  found  me  quite  to  his  taste  ; 
and  that  he  was  in  despair  of  the  death  of  the  empress, 
because  he  dreaded  that  they  would  seek  to  marry  me  to 
the  emperor.  I  listened  to  all  she  said,  as  became  me,  but 
I  did  not  place  all  the  confidence  in  it  which  she  would 
probably  have  wished."* 

While  the  Prince  of  Wales,  either  from  inclination,  or 
at  the  instigation  of  his  mother,  continued  to  pay  an  assid- 
uous court  to  Mademoiselle,  seating  himself,  as  she  tells 
us,  constantly  beside  her,  during  the  dramatic  representa- 
tions at  the  Louvre ;  always  attending  her  to  her  carriage 
when  she  visited  the  Queen  of  England,  and  remaining 
bareheaded  until  she  had  driven  off;  holding  the  flambeau 
while  his  royal  parent  dressed  her  with  her  own  hands  for 
a  ball  given  in  her  honor  by  Madame  de  Choisy,  the  wife 
of  her  father's  chancellor ;  wearing  her  colors,  while  she 
herself  was  adorned  with  all  the  crown  jewels  of  England ; 
*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  167 

and  following  her  step  by  step  ;*  the  amusements  of  the 
court  were  suddenly  interrupted  by  the  illness  of  the  king, 
who  was  attacked  by  the  small-pox  during  the  performance 
of  a  comedy  at  the  Palais-Royal ;  from  which,  however,  he 
soon  recovered. 

Meanwhile,  the  cardinal,  seeing  himself  firmly  seated  upon 
the  eminence  to  which  he  had  now  attained,  summoned 
his  relatives  from  Italy,  in  order  that  they  might  share  in 
his  prosperity,  and  profit  by  his  elevation  to  secure  their 
own.  They  consisted  of  his  two  sisters,  Mesdames  Marti- 
nozzif  and  Mancini  ;$  his  seven  nieces,  Laura,  and  Anna- 
Maria  Martinozzi,  and  Laura- Victoria,  Olympia,  Mary, 
Hortensia,  and  Mary- Anne  Mancini ;  and  his  two  nephews, 
the  young  Mancini,  whom,  as  we  have  already  stated,  Louis 
XIV.  had  included  in  the  dislike  which  he  felt  toward  his 
uncle  ;  and  Philip-Julian  Mancini,  who  subsequently  inher- 
ited a  portion  of  the  immense  wealth  as  well  as  the  name 
of  the  minister. 

The  Sjgnora  Anna-Maria  Martinozzi  figures  but  little  in 
the  boyhood  of  the  young  king,  for  she  was  on  her  arrival 
in  France  already  of  a  marriageable  age,  and  solely  anx- 
ious to  secure  an  eligible  establishment.  Her  position,  as 
the  niece  of  the  all-powerful  cardinal,  rendered  this  easy  ; 
and  accordingly  she  became  ere  long  the  wife  of  the 
Prince  de  Conti,  brother  of  the  great  Conde  (Duke  d'Engh- 
ien),  and  a  model  to  her  sex,  alike  as  a  wife,  a  mother,  and 
a  Christian. 

The  Signore  Mancini,  or  as  the  minister,  on  naturalizing 
his  family  in  France,  caused  them  to  be  called,  Mesdemoi- 
selles  de  Mancini,§  were  still  children,  the  elder  not  hav- 
ing attained  her  twelfth  year;  and  they  succeeded  each 
other  so  regularly  that  the  cardinal  had  every  reason  to 

*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 
t  Marguerita  Mazarini,  married  to  the  Count  Jerome  Martinozzi. 
t   Hieronyma  Mazarini,  the  wife  of  Michael  Laurent  Mancini,  a  Ro- 
man Baron.  §  Gazette  de  France,  1657. 


168  LOUIS      XIV.      AND 

hope  he  should  succeed  in  providing  for  them  in  rotation, 
without  being  subjected  to  the  annoyance  of  any  domestic 
rivalry. 

The  first  who  arrived  in  obedience  to  his  summons  were 
Victoria,  Olympia,  and  Mary,  with  their  elder  brother ;  and 
these  reached  Paris  on  the  11th  of  September,  1647,  under 
the  protection  of  Madame  de  Nogent,  who,  at  the  request 
of  the  cardinal,  had  gone  to  Fontainebleau  to  receive  them. 
On  the  same  evening  the  queen  desired  that  they  might 
wait  upon  her  at  the  Palais-Royal,  and  they  were  accord- 
ingly conducted  to  her  presence ;  when  Mazarin,  with  an 
affectation  of  indifference  of  which  subsequent  events  reveal- 
ed the  fallacy,  retired  for  the  night  by  one  door,  as  they 
entered  by  another.  Nevertheless,  as  the  courtiers  were 
quite  aware  that  he  had  not  removed  his  nieces  from  their 
home  with  any  other  design  than  that  of  marrying  them  in 
his  adopted  country,  and  that  they  could  not  better  pay 
their  court  to  the  minister  than  by  exhibiting  an  interest  in 
his  little  relatives,  they  were  soon  surrounded  by  so  dense 
a  crowd,  and  overwhelmed  with  such  a  deluge  of  compli- 
ments, that  the  Duke  d'Orleans  remarked  bitterly  :  "  There 
is  such  a  throng  about  those  little  girls  that  I  doubt  whether 
their  lives  are  safe,  and  if  they  will  not  be  suffocated ;"  while 
the  Marshal  Villeroi,  who  had  approached  and  overheard 
the  words  of  the  prince,  observed  in  his  turn:  "  Yonder  are 
some  young  ladies  who  are  not  wealthy  at  present,  but  who 
will  soon  possess  fine  chateaux,  good  incomes,  handsome 
jewels,  costly  services  of  plate,  and  probably  high  rank.  As 
to  the  boy,  as  he  must  have  time  to  grow,  he  will  perhaps 
only  see  fortune  in  perspective."* 

The  prophecy  was  fulfilled  to  the  letter ;  for  the  gal- 
lant youth  was  killed  at  the  Porte  St.  Antoine  during  the 
Fronde. 

On  leaving  the  queen,  the   children  proceeded    to    the 

apartments  of  their  uncle,  who  still  maintained  his  appear- 

*  Memoires  de  Madame  de  Motteville. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  169 

ance  of  coldness ;  and  it  is  certain  that  any  demonstration 
of  affection  would  merely  have  tended  to  increase  the  dis 
crepancy  which  existed  between  his  assertion  and  his  acts ; 
for  only  six  months  previously,  while  exhibiting  to  a  party 
of  his  friends  some  statues  which  had  just  reached  him 
from  Rome,  he  had  observed  :  "  Here  are  the  sole  relatives 
whom  I  shall  ever  permit  to  enter  France."  But,  never- 
theless, his  nieces  had  not  been  ten  days  in  Paris,  when  he 
pointed  them  out  to  the  Princess  Anna  Colonna,  saying  : 
*'  You  see  those  little  girls ;  the  eldest  is  not  twelve  years 
old,  and  the  others  are  barely  eight  and  nine,  and  already 
the  first  men  in  the  kingdom  have  asked  me  for  them  in 
marriage." 

They  were  subsequently  joined  by  their  mother,  their 
sister  Hortensia,  their  brother  Julian,  and  their  cousin  Anna 
Martinozzi ;  while  Mary- Anne  was  born  after  the  arrival  of 
Madame  de  Mancini  in  France.  Laura  Martinozzi  alone 
remained  in  Italy,  where  she  married  the  Duke  of  Modena, 
and  by  her  virtues  and  amability  secured  the  esteem  of  the 
princely  family  of  which  she  had  become  a  member. 

The  infant  court  of  the  monarch  was  now  complete  ;  and 
the  cardinal  was  careful  that  he  should  appreciate  the  add- 
ed charm  which  had  thus  been  bestowed  upon  it.  Every 
facility  was  given  to  his  constant  association  with  the  young 
Italians ;  and  while  Louis  betrayed,  without  one  endeavor 
to  disguise  it,  his  dislike  of  the  brother,  the  courteous  gal- 
lantly for  which  he  was  distinguished  throughout  life  led 
him  to  receive  the  sisters  with  condescension  and  kind- 
ness. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  when,  in  January  1648,  the 
populace  of  Paris  rose  against  the  edict  of  the  tariff,  and  a 
deputation  of  seven  or  eight  hundred  tradesmen  waited 
upon  the  Duke  d'Orleans  at  the  Luxembourg,  and  deman- 
ded justice ;  declaring  that,  strong  in  the  support  of  the 
i  parliament,  they  would  not  suffer  themselves  to  be  ruined 
by  the  imposition  of  old  taxes  which  were  continually  in- 
vui..  i. — H 


170  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

creasing,  and  new  ones  which  were  as  constantly  invented. 
The  Duke  d'Orleans,  however,  although  taken  by  surprise, 
with  his  usual  indecision,  would  give  no  pledge  ;  but  dis- 
missed them  with  the  simple  promise  that  their  representa- 
tion should  be  considered. 

Richelieu  had  dealt  with  the  French  nation  like  an  em- 
piric, and  applied  violent  remedies  which  appeared  to  give 
it  strength ;  but  this  strength  was  merely  that  of  excitement, 
by  which  it  was  exhausted  individually  and  collectively  ; 
while  Mazarin,  like  an  inexperienced  physician,  did  not 
comprehend  its  depression.  He  continued  to  enfeeble  it  by 
exactions,  without  affording  the  same  support  which  had 
been  contributed  by  the  skill  of  his  predecessor ;  and  thus 
it  fell  into  lethargy,  while  he  was  blind  enough  to  consider 
this  artificial  rest  as  a  proof  of  health.  The  provinces, 
abandoned  to  the  rapine  of  their  superintendents,  remained 
bent  beneath  the  pressure  of  their  evils ;  the  parliaments 
were  employed  in  remembering  their  past  affronts,  rather 
than  in  attending  to  present  measures  ;  the  nobles,  who  had 
nearly  all  been  banished  from  the  country,  were  too  busy 
in  congratulating  themselves  on  their  return,  to  disturb  their 
soothing  reveries  by  an  examination  of  its  actual  condition ; 
and  thus  the  evil  grew.  But  human  passions  began  to 
awaken ;  Paris  felt  the  shock  of  the  coming  storm,  and  as- 
certained its  moral  strength  ;  it  uttered  its  complaints  which 
remained  unheeded ;  and  then  roused  itself  with  a  bound 
from  that  torpidity  which  had  been  the  supposed  security 
of  the  minister.* 

The  disaffection  of  the  populace,  far  from  diminishing, 
increased  from  hour  to  hour;  and  the  Masters  of  Requests, 
whose  privileges  had  been  invaded  by  the  minister,  deeming 
the  moment  favorable,  demanded  an  audience  of  Mazarin, 
at  which  one  of  them  addressed  him  in  the  name  of  the 
whole  body,  with  so  much  boldness,  that  His  Eminence 
could  not  dissemble  his  astonishment.  A  council  was  held 
*  Memoires  du  Cardinal  de  Retz. 


THE     COURT     OF     PRANCE.  171 

the  same  day  in  the  queen's  apartments,  at  which  Emery,* 
the  superintendent  of  finance,  who  was  peculiarly  obnoxious 
to  the  people,  was  ordered  to  attend.  The  first  president 
and  the  gentlemen  of  the  king's  household  were  also  sum- 
moned. The  council  occupied  a  considerable  time  and  was 
very  tumultuous  ;  but  came  to  no  decision. 

It  may  not  be  irrelevant,  after  the  fulmination  of  M.  de 
Retz,  to  give  a  brief  outline  of  the  history  of  M.  d'Emery. 
He  was  the  son  of  a  banker  of  Lyons,  named  Particelli,  who 
became  a  bankrupt  to  an  immense  extent ;  a  circumstance 
which  determined  his  son  to  abandon  the  paternal  name, 
and  to  adopt  that  of  Emery.  It  would  appear  that  Riche- 
lieu appreciated  in  the  young  man  the  very  qualities  which 
the  coadjutor  decried ;  for  he  personally  presented  him  to 
Louis  XIII.  under  his  adopted  name,  as  a  candidate  for  the 
superintendence  of  finance.  The  king  looked  at  him  for  an 
instant,  and  repeating  once  or  twice,  "  d'Emery,  d'Emeiy, 
I  never  heard  the  name  before  ;"  desired  that  the  appoint- 
ment might  be  immediately  made  out,  as  he  had  been  in- 
formed that  the  rascally  Particelli  intended  to  apply  for  it. 
The  cardinal  assured  his  majesty  that  such  a  fear  was 
groundless,  as  the  Particelli  of  whom  he  spoke  had  been 
hanged. 

"All  the  better!"  said  the  king;  "and  since  you  an- 
swer for  M.  d'Emery,  let  him  have  the  place." 

He  was  immediately  obeyed. 

We  return  from  our  digression  to  the  current  of  the  nar- 
rative. 

*  "  Emery,  in  my  opinion  the  most  corrupt  man  of  his  century,'songht 
only  for  names  in  order  to  find  edicts.  I  can  not  better  explain  to  you 
i  the  spirit  of  this  personage,  who  said  in  full  council  (I  heard  him),  that 
:  good  faith  was  only  suited  to  traders ;  and  that  the  Masters  of  Requests 
:  who  alledged  it  as  a  reason  in  matters  relating  to  the  king's  service, 
|  deserved  punishment.  This  man,  who  had  been  condemned,  in  his 
j  youth,  at  Lyons,  to  be  hanged,  governed  Mazarin  imperiously  in  all 
I  that  related  to  the  interior  economy  of  the  kingdom." — Memoires  du 
I   Cardinal  de  Retz. 


172  LOUIS    XIV.     AMD 

In  the  course  of  the  night  several  shots  were  fired  in 
different  parts  of  Paris.  The  civil-lieutenant*  was  sent 
to  ascertain  the  meaning  of  these  shots,  and  he  was  in- 
formed in  reply  that  the  citizens  were  testing  their  arms, 
in  order  to  see  if  they  could  depend  upon  them,  as,  in 
the  event  of  the  minister  still  persisting  in  his  oppression, 
they  were  determined  to  follow  the  example  of  the  Nea- 
politans. 

On  the  following  day  the  queen,  when  on  her  way  to 
hear  mass  at  Notre-Dame,  was  followed  to  the  very  doors 
of  the  cathedral  by  a  crowd  of  women,  amounting  to  about 
two  hundred,  crying  for  justice,  and  endeavoring  to  kneel 
before  her;  but  they  were  repulsed  by  the  guards,  and 
the  regent  passed  on  calmly  and  haughtily,  vouchsafing  no 
reply  to  their  petition. 

Another  council  was  assembled  at  mid-day,  which  de- 
cided that  no  concession  should  be  made ;  and  the  guards 
were,  moreover,  put  under  arms,  and  sentinels  placed  in 
every  quarter  of  the  city.  Marshal  Schomberg,  who  had 
recently  married  Mademoiselle  d'Hautefort  (the  queen's 
old  favorite,  abandoned  since  the  regency),  was  ordered 
to  post  the  Swiss  troops,  and  ere  night  Paris  was  changed 
into  one  vast  camp ;  while  the  firing  of  the  previous  even- 
ing not  only  continued,  but  became  so  much  increased, 
and  so  widely  dispersed,  that  an  immediate  attack  upon 
the  military  was  constantly  anticipated.  Nor  did  the 
evil  diminish  upon  the  morrow.  The  presence  of  the 
soldiers  in  their  streets  exasperated  the  people ;  and  the 
tumult  deepened  so  rapidly,  that  the  Prevot  of  the  mer- 
chants presented  himself  at  the  Palais-Royal,  and  apprised 
The  civil-lieutenant  was  the  second  magistrate  of  the  ancient  juris- 
diction of  the  chdtelet  of  Paris.  He  presided  at  the  audience  of  the 
civil  park ;  collected  the  opinions  of  the  councilors ;  judged  with  closed 
doors  the  disputes  relatively  to  the  affixing  and  removing  of  seals  and 
inventories ;  drew  up  in  his  own  hotel  the  reports,  interdictions,  de- 
mands in  separation,  and  opening  of  wills  after  the  decease  of  the  tes- 
tator.?. &c.     The  revenues  of  the  office  amounted  to  500,000  livres. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  173 

the  regent  and  her  minister  that  the  whole  of  Paris  was 
ahout  to  take  up  arms.  He  was  answered  that  all  the 
military  parade  of  which  he  complained  had  been  drawn 
out  for  the  purpose  of  escorting  the  king  to  Notre  Dame, 
where  he  was  about  to  return  thanks  to  God  for  his  happy 
convalescence ;  and  in  accordance  with  this  declaration  the 
troops  were  withdrawn  after  his  return. 

On  the  morrow,  the  king  attended  parliament,  where 
the  chancellor  uttered  a  long  harangue  on  the  necessities 
of  the  state ;  the  obligation  which  existed  that  the  people 
should  assist  in  supporting  the  expense  of  the  war,  by 
which  means  alone  a  satisfactory  peace  could  be  obtained  ; 
talked  loudly  of  the  royal  power ;  and  endeavored  to  es- 
tablish as  a  fundamental  law  the  unquestioning  obedience 
of  subjects  to  their  sovereign. 

The  Advocate-General  Talon  replied  by  a  speech  full 
of  vigor  and  energy ;  he  besought  the  queen  to  remember, 
when  she  was  kneeling  in  her  oratory  to  supplicate  God 
for  mercy,  that  her  people  had  knelt  before  her  in  like 
manner,  and  in  a  similar  spirit.  He  reminded  her  that  she 
governed  free  men,  and  not  slaves  ;  and  that  these  men, 
constantly  harassed,  drained,  and  ruined  by  new  edicts, 
had  no  longer  any  thing  which  they  could  call  their  own, 
save  their  souls ;  while  they  had  arrived  at  the  conviction 
that  they  still  possessed  these,  merely  because  they  could 
not  be  sold  by  auction,  as  their  property  had  already  been, 
by  the  government  officials.  He  added,  moreover,  that  the 
victories  and  the  laurels  about  which  so  much  exultation 
had  been  exhibited,  were  assuredly  glorious  trophies  for 
the  kingdom ;  but  nevertheless  they  would  not  give  to  the 
people  either  of  the  things  they  most  needed — food  and 
clothing. 

The  result  of  the  meeting  was,  that  the  king  earned 
five  or  six  new  edicts,  more  oppressive  than  any  by  which 
they  had  been  preceded;  and  on  the  same  day  the  cham- 
bers assembled  to  discuss  them.     The  queen,  in  her  turn, 


1 74  LODIS    XIV.    AND 

then  summoned  them  to  her  presence  by  deputations; 
and  expressed  her  astonishment  and  displeasure  at  their 
presuming  to  question  any  measure  which  had  been  con- 
secrated by  the  presence  of  the  king.  The  first  president 
insisted  upon  their  light  to  act  as  they  had  done  ;  and 
asserted  that  the  parliament  had  been  instituted  for  the 
purpose  of  serving  as  a  shield  to  protect  the  people  from 
the  exaggerated  exactions  of  the  courts;  upon  which  the 
queen  lost  her  temper,  and  insisted  that  all  the  edicts 
should  be  put  into  force  without  modification  of  any 
description. 

On  the  following  day  the  Duke  d'Orleans  went  to  the 
Court  of  Accounts,*  and  delivered  up  all  such  records  of 
expenditure  as  regarded  himself  personally ;  while  M.  de 
Conti,  in  the  absence  of  the  Prince  de  Conde,  who  had  left 
Paris  to  join  the  army,  had  already  earned  those  which 
concerned  the  Assistant  Court  to  that  body.t 

The  queen  next  summoned  the  Masters  of  Requests, 
with  whom  she  was  even  less  forbearing  than  with  the 
parliament,  telling  them  that  they  were  extraordinary 
personages,  to  make  such  an  attempt  as  that  of  limiting 
the  king's  authority;  and  adding,  that  she  would  show 
them  she  could  create  or  annul  whatever  offices  she 
pleased ;  in  proof  of  which  she  dismissed  the  whole  of 
them  from  office.  This  measure,  which  was  intended  to 
intimidate  the  body,  produced,  however,  a  very  opposite 
effect :  some  smiled  as  they  listened ;  others  whispered 
among  themselves ;  and  others  again  shook  their  heads 
with  an  expression  of  disdainful  defiance ;  after  which 
they  withdrew  with  a  profound  bow,  more  expressive  of 
hostility  than   of  reverence.     "  They  felt,"  says  Madame 

A  tribunal  by  which  the  accounts  of  all  public  moneys  disbursed 
were  verified. 

t  The  Assistant  Court  was  instituted  under  the  old  kings  of  France, 
to  render  justice,  and  to  give  the  closing  voice  in  all  matters  relating  to 
taxes. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  175 

de  Motteville,  "  that  there  were  vapors  in  the  air,  and  that 
the  weather  was  unfavorable  for  the  court." 

On  the  morrow,  instead  of  showing  obedience,  they 
presented  themselves  in  a  body  to  the  parliament,  to 
oppose  the  registration  of  the  edict  against  them.  Paris 
was  ripe  for  revolt,  and  required  only  a  chief;  while  the 
one  whom  nature  and  inclination  had  alike  fitted  for  the 
post  was  soon  to  appear;  and  that  too  in  a  manner  of 
which  the  romance  added  to  the  charm  in  such  a  moment 
of  excitement. 


CHAPTER  VIIT. 

The  Duke  de  Beaufort  at  Vincennes — The  Prediction — La  Ramee — 
Preparations  for  Flight — The  Pasty — The  Prince  and  the  Valet — The 
Evasion — Discontent  of  Mademoiselle — The  Archduke  Leopold  — 
Arrest  of  Saujon — The  Retort  courteous — Increase  of  Popular  Disaf- 
fection— Popularity  of  the  Coadjutor — Victory  of  Sens — Triumph  of 
the  Court — The  Te  Deum — Arrest  of  Broussel  and  Blancmesnil — 
Consternation  of  the  Capital — The  impromptu  Council — Advice  of 
the  Coadjutor — The  revolted  Citizens — The  Coadjutor  and  the  Mob 
— The  Coadjutor  and  the  Faction — The  Fronde — The  Liberation  of 
Broussel — Terror  of  Mazarin — Sudden  Calm. 

We  left  the  Duke  de  Beaufort  a  prisoner  at  Vincennes, 
where  he  had  been  detained  for  the  last  five  years,  under 
the  guard  of  De  Chavigny,  his  personal  enemy,  when  a 
rumor  became  current  in  the  capital  that  an  astrologer 
had  predicted  his  escape  from  the  fortress  on  the  ensuing 
Whit-Sunday.  This  report  reached  the  ears  of  the  car- 
dinal :  and  as  it  occasioned  him  some  uneasiness,  he  sum- 
moned the  exempt  who  was  the  responsible  guard  of  the 


LOUIS  XIV.  AND  THE  COURT  OF  FRANCE.  177 

duke  (M.  de  Ramee),  to  inquire  of  him  if  he  considered 
the  flight  irom  his  prison  to  be  practicable.  The  func- 
tionary explained  that  M.  de  Beaufort  was  constantly- 
watched,  save  when  in  his  bed,  by  an  officer  and  seven  or 
eight  soldiers,  who  followed  him  wherever  he  went ;  that 
he  was  waited  upon  by  the  king's  officers,  having  no 
attendants  of  his  own ;  and  that,  as  the  best  earnest  of 
his  security,  the  Count  de  Chavigny  was  his  jailer.  Maz- 
arin  was  at  once  tranquilized  by  this  explanation,  which 
La  Ramee  terminated  by  declaring  that  the  duke  could 
never  escape  from  the  tower  save  in  the  shape  of  a  small 
bird ;  his  room  was  so  high  up,  and  his  bars  were  so  nar- 
row ;  and  such  being  the  report  of  an  official  whose  head 
was  periled  by  the  evasion  of  his  prisoner,  the  cardinal, 
after  having  desired  him  rather  to  increase  than  to  relax  in 
vigilance,  bade  him  immediately  return  to  his  post,  and 
thought  no  more  of  the  prophecy. 

For  once,  however,  the  jealous  minister  was  in  error. 
The  duke,  like  every  other  captive,  thought  of  little  else 
than  effecting  his  escape.  Bold  as  he  was,  he  at  once 
recognized  the  difficulties  which  he  should  have  to  en- 
counter, and  for  a  time  was  compelled  to  consider  them 
as  almost  insurmountable  :  but,  especially  to  such  an  or- 
ganization as  his,  nothing  could  compensate  for  liberty ; 
and  although,  save  in  the  watchfulness  of  his  guardians, 
his  prison  was  by  no  means  rigorous,  still  the  very  fact 
that  it  compelled  him  to  an  existence  of  inaction,  rendered 
it  'terrible.  He  saw,  moreover,  no  probability  of  its  ces- 
sation before  the  death  or  the  disgrace  of  the  cardinal, 
who  was  still  in  the  prime  of  life ;  and  whose  hold  upon 
the  queen-regent  was  not  merely  that  of  a  useful  min- 
ister upon  his  sovereign,  but  also  that  of  a  lover  upon 
his  mistress ;  and  as  these  contingencies  could  not  ra- 
tionally afford  matter  of  speculation,  he  felt  that  he  must 
depend  almost  solely  upon  his  own  ingenuity  and  re- 
sources to  effect  his  object.     He   commenced  operations 

a* 


178  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

by  tampering  with  three  or  four  of  his  guards,  but  their 
terror  of  Mazarin  was  more  powerful  than  .even  their 
cupidity,  and  his  failure  was  signal.  Then  for  a  time  he 
controlled  himself,  and  remained  passive;  but  to  continue 
thus  supine  was  an  effort  beyond  his  strength,  and  he 
next  resolved  on  endeavoring  to  gain  the  valet  of  La 
Ramee,  a  man  named  Vaudrimont,  whom  he  found  more 
accessible  to  his  golden  arguments  ;  and  who,  being  per- 
mitted to  leave  the  fortress  on  various  errands  for  his 
master,  carried  a  letter  to  the  duke's  steward,  by  which 
he  was  informed  of  the  attempt  about  to  be  made,  and 
authorized  to  deliver  to  its  bearer  the  sum  agreed  upon 
as  the  price  of  his  cooperation.  The  pastry-cook  of 
Vincennes  was  next  brought  over  to  the  cause;  and  he 
promised  to  conceal,  in  the  next  pasty  which  should  be 
prepared  for  the  prisoner's  table,  a  rope  ladder,  and  a 
couple  of  poniards ;  but  when  Vaudrimont  had  accom- 
plished thus  much,  he  became  terrified  at  his  own  suc- 
cess ;  and  compelled  the  duke  to  swear,  not  only  that  he 
should  be  made  the  companion  of  his  flight,  but  also  that 
in  every  difficulty  he  should  be  allowed  to  pass  first;  a 
point  which  the  prisoner  at  once  conceded,  the  cowardice 
of  egotism  forming  no  feature  of  his  rash  and  uncalculating 
character. 

On  Whitsun-eve  the  expected  pie  appeared  at  table ; 
when  M.  de  Beaufort  declined  to  sup,  but  desired  that, 
as  it  was  possible  his  appetite  might  return  during  the 
night,  this  savory  pasty  might  be  left  in  the  apartment ; 
an  arrangement  the  more  readily  permitted,  as  the  attend- 
ants, who  were  accustomed  to  profit  by  the  good  cheer  of 
the  captive,  saw  themselves  free  to  carry  off  the  remainder 
of  the  repast.  In  a  couple  of  hours,  the  duke  was  visited 
by  the  governor,  with  whom  he  exchanged  his  nightly 
salutation,  which,  cold  and  brief  as  it  was,  was  rigidly 
observed ;  fresh  sentinels  were  posted,  and  he  was  at 
length  alone.     Nevertheless  he  suffered  another  hour  to 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  179 

elapse  ere  he  rose  cautiously  from  his  bed,  lifted  the  cover 
of  the  pasty,  and  drew  out,  not  the  ladder  of  rope  which 
he  had  expected,  but  a  ball  of  silk,  two  poniards,  and  a 
gag.  The  next  morning  M.  de  Beaufort  feigned  indis- 
position, in  order  to  remain  in  bed,  and  gave  his  purse 
to  the  guards  that  they  might  go  and  drink  to  his  better 
health.  Perfectly  willing  to  obey  the  suggestion,  they 
nevertheless  asked  permission  of  La  Ramee  to  avail  them- 
selves of  the  prisoner's  liberality,  who  told  them  that,  under 
existing  circumstances,  he  saw  no  objection  to  their  profit- 
ing by  the  indulgence,  when  they  joyfully  withdrew. 

The  duke  no  sooner  found  himself  alone  with  La  Ramee, 
than  he  expressed  a  wish  to  rise,  commenced  dressing  him- 
self, and  requested  that  the  exempt  would  be  kind  enough 
to  assist  him  in  putting  on  his  clothes ;  and  he  had  just 
completed  his  toilet  when  Vaudrimont  appeared  at  the 
door  of  the  apartment,  and  made  the  signal  which  in- 
formed him  that  the  moment  for  the  attempt  had  at  last 
arrived.  M.  de  Beaufort  instantly  drew  a  poniard  from 
beneath  his  bolster,  sprang  upon  the  exempt,  and  holding 
the  weapon  to  his  throat,  swore  that  he  would  murder 
him  if  he  uttered  a  sound;  while,  at  the  same  moment,  his 
accomplice  thrust  the  gag  into  his  mouth.  They  then 
proceeded  to  tie  his  hands  and  feet  with  the  duke's  scarf 
of  gold  and  silver  tissue ;  after  which  they  laid  him  on  the 
floor,  and  escaped  from  the  room,  locking  the  door  behind 
them.  This  done,  they  reached  a  gallery  which  overlooked 
the  park  on  the  St.  Mark  side,  and  whose  windows  opened 
upon  the  moat ;  fastened  their  cord  to  the  window-sill, 
and  were  preparing  to  descend,  when  Vaudrimont  re- 
minded the  duke  of  the  conditions  he  had  made ;  upon 
which  the  gallant  prisoner  stepped  back,  and  the  valet 
preceded  him.  Unluckily,  however,  for  the  accomplice, 
he  was  a  man  of  stout  build,  and  tolerably  corpulent, 
while  the  cord  had  been  prepared  only  for  the  slight 
weight  of  M.  de  Beaufort ;  and  in  consequence  of  this  fact, 


ISO  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

the  poor  fellow  was  yet  at  a  height  of  fifteen  or  twenty- 
feet  from  the  ground,  when  the  rope  broke,  and  he  fell 
heavily  to  the  bottom  of  the  moat.  The  duke,  by  whom 
he  was  followed,  when  he  arrived  at  the  extremity  of 
the  cord,  let  himself  slip  gently  down  the  slope,  and  so 
arrived  safe  and  sound  at  the  bottom  of  the  ditch,  where 
he  found  Vaudrimont  sorely  bruised  ;  and  immediately  five 
or  six  of  his  people  appeared  on  the  other  side  of  the  moat, 
and  threw  a  rope  to  the  fugitives,  when  once  more  the 
valet  insisted  upon  his  light  to  be  the  first  rescued.  M.  de 
Beaufort  accordingly  assisted  him  to  make  the  rope  fast 
under  his  arms,  but  being  from  his  hurts  unable  to  second 
the  endeavors  of  his  friends,  he  was  nearly  dead  before 
they  succeeded  in  drawing  him  out.  The  duke  followed, 
and  having  arrived  on  the  summit  of  the  slope  in  good 
case,  "Vaudrimont  was  instantly  flung  over  one  horse,  De 
Beaufort  mounted  upon  another,  and  the  party  galloped 
off  to  the  Porte  de  Nogent,  through  which  they  compelled 
a  passage.  On  the  other  aide  of  the  barrier,  the  duke 
found  a  troop  of  fifty  horsemen,  who  immediately  sur- 
rounded him  with  great  demonstrations  of  joy ;  and  the 
whole  cortege  disappeared  like  the  wind. 

Meanwhile,  the  whole  evasion  had  been  witnessed  by  a 
poor  woman  and  her  child,  who  were  gathering  vegetables 
in  a  garden  near  the  moat ;  but  M.  de  Beaufort's  followers 
having  threatened  them  with  death  if  they  did  not  remain 
quiet,  they  gave  no  alarm  until  the  party  were  out  of  sight, 
when  the  woman  ran  and  informed  her  husband  of  the 
circumstance ;  while  he,  having  apprised  the  garrison, 
who,  unsuspicious  of  such  an  attempt,  were  spending  the 
money  of  the  fugitive,  and  drinking  to  his  health,  found 
considerable  difficulty  in  obtaining  credence.  He,  how- 
ever, persisted  so  tenaciously  in  his  story,  and  his  wife,  by 
whom  he  was  accompanied,  gave  them  so  many,  and  such 
circumstantial  details,  that  they  at  length  proceeded  to  the 
duke's  chamber,  where  they  found  the  exempt  lying  bound 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  181 

upon  the  floor,  with  the  gag  in  his  mouth,  a  naked  pon- 
iard at  his  side,  his  sword  tied  to  the  scabbard  by  a  ribbon, 
and  his  wand  broken  at  his  feet.*  They  hastened,  in  the 
first  place,  to  relieve  him  of  the  gag,  when  he  gave  them 
an  account  of  the  whole  occurrence ;  but,  as  it  was  be- 
lieved that  he  had  assisted  in  the  duke's  escape,  and  that 
the  jeopardy  in  which  he  was  discovered  had  simply  been 
arranged  to  divert  suspicion,  he  was  committed  to  a  dun- 
geon. His  innocence  was,  however,  subsequently  proved ; 
but  he  was,  nevertheless,  compelled  to  sell  his  place  at  a 
considerable  loss,  which  M.  de  Beaufort  no  sooner  ascer- 
tained, than  he  caused  the  money  to  be  immediately  re- 
mitted to  him. 

The  news  of  this  escape  soon  reached  the  court ;  but 
it  was  difficult  to  judge  of  the  effect  which  it  produced. 
The  queen  affected  to  deem  it  of  little  importance,  and 
the  cardinal  merely  laughed  when  it  was  reported  to 
him,  observing  that  he  should  have  made  the  same  at- 
tempt under  similar  circumstances,  and  that  his  only  cause 
of  surprise  was,  that  M.  de  Beaufort  should  have  waited 
so  long  before  he  endeavored  to  obtain  his  liberty.  In 
fact,  the  duke  was  considered  to  be  innoxious  from  the 
fact  that  he  was  short  of  money,  and  held  no  fortresses 
which  could  enable  him  to  offer  defiance  to  the  govern- 
ment ;  while  the  offensive  attitude  assumed  by  the  par- 
liament, and  the  spirit  of  revolt  exhibited  by  the  populace 
of  Paris,  gave  tangible  cause  of  alarm  and  preoccupation.t 

About  this  time,  when  Mademoiselle  began  to  per- 
ceive that  the  cardinal,  who  had  more  than  once  en- 
couraged her  in  her  hope  of  becoming  an  empress  of 
Germany,  was  merely  deluding  her  with  a  chimera  to 
which  it  was  by  no  means  his  intention  ever  to  give  con- 
sistency, it  suddenly  occurred  to  her  mind  that  it  would 

*  The  Exempts  carried  a  small  wand  of  ebony,  mounted  in  ivory,  as 
a  symbol  of  their  command, 
t  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


182  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

accord  with  the  interests  of  her  father,  who,  being  far 
from  wealthy,  had  the  guardianship  of  her  enormous 
fortune,  to  prevent  her  marriage  altogether,  for  the  benefit 
of  his  second  family ;  and  she  became  highly  incensed  at 
the  double-dealing  of  those  about  her;  her  great  ambition 
having  always  been  the  accomplishment  of  that  marriage. 
Old  and  ill-favored  as  he  was,  she  consulted  her  vanity 
rather  than  her  passions,  and  could  not  forgive  the  mystifi- 
cation of  which  she  had  been  made  the  victim,  when  the 
news  reached  her  that  the  emperor  was  about  to  form  an 
alliance  with  a  Tyrolese  arch-duchess. 

"Cardinal  Mazarin,"  she  says,  "frequently  spoke  to 
me  of  my  marriage  with  the  emperor ;  and,  although  he 
took  no  steps  to  effect  it,  he  assured  me  positively  that 
he  was  doing  so ;  the  Abbe  de  la  Riviere  also  profited 
by  the  same  circumstance  to  pay  his  court  to  me,  and 
gave  me  an  assurance  that  he  did  not  neglect  to  urge 
the  point  both  upon  Monsieur  and  the  cardinal.  But 
what  has  since  tended  to  convince  me  that  I  was  duped, 
is,  that  Monsieur  one  day  said :  '  I  have  been  told  that 
the  proposal  of  marrying  the  emperor  is  agreeable  to 
you ;  and,  if  it  be  so,  I  will  assist  it  as  far  as  I  am  able, 
but  I  am  convinced  that  you  will  not  be  happy  in  that 
country :  they  live  in  the  Spanish  style,  and  the  emperor 
is  older  than  me.  For  this  reason,  I  think  that  it  is  not 
advantageous  for  you,  and  that  you  would  only  be  happy 
in  England;  or,  should  things  mend,  in  Savoy.'  I  told 
him  that  I  wished  to  marry  the  emperor,  and  that  the 
selection  was  my  own  affair:  that  I  entreated  them  to 
agree  to  what  I  had  decided ;  that  what  I  said  was  from 
propriety;  that  he  was  not  a  young  and  gallant  man, 
and  that  they  might  consequently  see  what  was  the  truth, 
that  I  thought  more  of  the  establishment  than  of  the  in- 
dividual. My  wish  produced,  nevertheless,  no  effect  upon 
those  who  were  authorized  to  make  the  business  suc- 
ceed, and  the  only  result  which  I  experienced  was  that  of 


THE     COURT     OF     PRANCE.  183 

having  the  annoyance  to  hear  the  matter  talked  of  still 
longer." 

Mademoiselle  had  about  her  person  a  M.  Saujon,  who 
was  the  intimate  friend  of  Captain  Villarmont,  of  the 
guards,  who  was  taken  prisoner  in  Flanders,  by  Piccolo- 
mini,  and  after  a  few  months  of  captivity  was  permitted 
to  return  to  France  on  his  parole.  Before  he  left  the 
enemy's  head-quarters,  the  general  had  given  him  a  din- 
ner ;  and  while  talking  to  him  of  his  nation,  had  digressed 
to  the  French  court ;  and,  in  speaking  of  Mademoiselle, 
had  said  that  they  knew  her  well  by  reputation,  and 
should  be  delighted  to  possess  in  their  country  a  princess 
of  her  merit.  Such  a  remark  from  the  lips  of  a  man  in 
the  confidence  of  the  archduke,  Leopold  William,  was 
more  than  an  overture,  and,  accordingly,  the  words  struck 
Villarmont  forcibly ;  and,  on  his  arrival  in  Paris,  he  has- 
tened to  repeat  them  to  Saujon;  who,  in  his  turn,  after 
considerable  reflection,  determined  to  confide  them  to 
Mademoiselle.  At  first  they  produced  but  little  impres- 
sion upon  her  mind ;  but,  when  she  ultimately  combined 
them  with  the  image  of  the  Archduchess  of  Tyrol,  and 
the  conviction  to  which  she  had  brought  herself  of  the 
disinclination  of  Monsieur,  to  see  her  form  any  alliance, 
however  advantageous  to  her  own  interests,  she  felt  piqued, 
and  began  to  vouchsafe  them  more  consideration. 

How  far,  however,  the  intrigue  really  progressed,  can 
never  now  be  known,  for  Mademoiselle,  who  alone  could 
be  aware  of  the  exact  extent  to  which  it  attained,  reso- 
lutely denied  its  existence.  Saujon  was,  nevertheless,  ar- 
rested one  morning ;  and,  in  the  evening,  it  was  whis- 
pered that  Mademoiselle  was  to  have  been  earned  off 
by  the  archduke  ;  though  no  one  was  sufficiently  well- 
informed  to  be  able  to  assert  whether  it  were  or  not  by 
her  own  connivance.  What  appeared,  however,  to  decide 
the  point,  was  the  fact  that  she  was  confined  to  her  apart- 
ments, and  on  the  following  day  commanded  to   appear 


184  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

before  the  queen,  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  and  the  cardinal; 
when  she  replied  to  the  reproaches  which  were  addressed 
to  her  in  as  high  a  key  as  they  were  uttered ;  and  when 
the  recent,  in  allusion  to  Saujon,  reminded  her  that  she 
was  incurring  the  risk  of  causing  hira  to  lose  his  head  in 
her  service,  retorted  by  remarking  that,  at  least,  he  would 
be  the  first  who  had  done  so  for  her.  The  epigram  was 
stinging,  both  to  Anne  of  Austria  and  the  Duke  of  Anjou ; 
and  the  family  council  soon  after  terminated,  without  hav- 
ing produced  the  slightest  concession  or  acknowledgment 
on  the  part  of  the  alledged  culprit.* 

The  sensation  created  by  such  an  event  as  this,  in  a 
court  where  the  queen  set  an  example  of  the  most  rigid 
devotion  may  be  imagined ;  and  it  so  completely  ab- 
sorbed the  minds  of  all  the  nobility,  that  they  for  a  time 
lost  sight  of  the  more  important  progress  of  public  events ; 
and  while  the  delinquency  of  Mademoiselle  was  on  the 
tapis,  the  coadjutor  twice  waited  upon  the  regent  and 
the  cardinal,  to  apprise  them  of  the  increase  of  popular 
disaffection,  without  their  conceding  the  slightest  notice  to 
his  warning.  This  was,  however,  partially  attributable, 
in  all  probability,  to  the  fact  that  neither  the  queen  nor 
her  minister  were  able  to  comprehend  the  amount  of  influ- 
ence possessed  by  M.  de  Retz.  They  had  either  never 
known,  or  had  forgotten  the  fact,  that  soon  after  he  suc- 
ceeded to  the  coadjutorship,  he  had,  in  less  than  four 
months,  disbursed  six  thousand  crowns  in  donations  and 
alms-giving,  and  had  thus  established  a  character  for  liber- 
ality, which  was  all-powerful  with  the  people.  In  his 
person,  he  was  singularly  unimpressive,  for  he  was  short 
and  ill-made,  of  dark  complexion,  extremely  awkward 
and  ungraceful ;  wrote  illegibly,  could  not  trace  a  straight 
line,  and  was  painfully  near-sighted.  Physically,  there- 
fore, he  was  ill-calculated  to  become  a  popular  favorite  ; 
but  he  had  blinded  the  eyes  of  the  crowd  by  the  shower  of 
*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  185 

gold-dust  which  he  had  flung  among  them;  and  was,  in 
consequence,  at  once  in  the  position  to  prove  a  valuable 
friend  or  a  formidable  enemy. 

The  parliament  continued  its  deliberations;  and  those 
who  the  most  firmly  advocated  its  rights  against  the  court, 
were  the  Counselor  of  the  Great  Chamber,  M.  Pierre 
Broussel,  and  M.  Blancmesnil,  the  President  of  Requests ; 
in  consequence  of  which  they  became  obnoxious  to  the 
royal  party  ;  and,  as  a  natural  result,  rose  in  the  estimation 
and  confidence  of  the  people.  Nevertheless,  there  ex- 
isted, for  the  moment,  a  species  of  truce  between  the 
opposing  factions;  for  all  eyes  were  turned  in  suspense 
toward  the  frontier.  The  prince  (Duke  d'Enghien)  was 
with  the  army ;  and  it  was  evident,  from  the  dispositions 
made  by  the  two  conflicting  generals,  that  a  decisive  en- 
gagement was  at  hand,  and  could  not  fail  to  take  place. 

The  position  of  the  French  government  at  this  period 
did  not  enable  it  to  anticipate  with  tranquillity  the  issue 
of  the  impending  combat ;  nor  were  the  people  less 
interested  in  the  result  than  their  superiors;  for  should 
the  prince  be  beaten,  the  court,  that  would  require  both 
men  and  funds  to  pursue  the  war,  must  find  itself  com- 
pelled to  have  recourse  to  the  aid  of  the  parliament, 
which  would  thus  gain  the  ascendant;  while,  should  the 
contrary  event  take  place,  they  had  the  game  in  their 
own  hands,  and  would  be  free  to  pursue  the  advantages 
which  they  had  already  gained.  The  first  intelligence 
which  reached  the  capital  gave  earnest  of  success ;  for, 
on  the  23d  of  August,  a  man,  who  arrived  from  Arras, 
announced  that  the  report  of  artillery  had  been  heard  in 
that  city,  and  that  no  stragglers  had  crossed  the  frontier ; 
which  combined  circumstances  tended  to  prove  the  com- 
mencement of  hostilities,  and  to  afford  the  inference  that 
so  far,  at  least,  the  troops  under  the  Prince  de  Conde 
had  been  fortunate.  Vague  as  this  information  was,  it 
sufficed  to  cause  great  satisfaction   at  court,  for  success 


186  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

was  so  necessary  that  they  accepted  probability  almost  as 
eagerly  as  facts.  At  midnight  all  suspense  was  over,  the 
Count  de  Chatillon  arrived  as  an  extraordinary  courier 
from  the  prince,  by  whom  he  had  been  dispatched  from 
the  field,  to  announce  the  complete  defeat  of  the  enemy, 
who  had  left  nine  thousand  dead  upon  the  place,  and  had 
retreated  in  utter  disorder,  abandoning  all  their  baggage 
and  a  portion  of  their  artillery.  The  French  army  had,  in 
short,  gained  the  battle  of  Sens. 

Mademoiselle,  in  her  own  egotistical  style,  pays  a  high 
compliment  to  the  conqueror,  where  she  says  : — "  News 
arrived  of  the  battle  of  Sens,  gained  by  the  prince ;  but  as 
my  aversion  for  him  was  well  known,  not  one  ventured 
to  mention  it  to  me.  They  placed  upon  my  table  the  ac- 
count which  had  come  from  Paris  (she  was  at  her  country- 
house  of  Bois-le-Vicomte) ;  and  on  leaving  my  bed,  I  saw 
this  paper,  and  read  it  with  great  surprise  and  sorrow. 
As  I  ought  not  to  have  mixed  up  my  hatred  with  so  con- 
siderable a  state  benefit,  I  did  not  know  how  to  separate 
them ;  and  on  this  occasion  I  found  myself  less  a  good 
Frenchwoman  than  an  enemy ;  but  I  excused  my  tears  by 
the  grief  which  I  declared  to  be  occasioned  by  the  death 
of  some  officers  of  my  acquaintance  who  had  been  killed  in 
the  action ;  and  as  good  feeling  is  always  praiseworthy, 
particularly  in  the  great,  who  are  accused  of  being  devoid 
of  it,  I  attracted  praise  instead  of  the  reproach  which  I 
deserved.  I  do  not  know  how  I  could  be  so  much  affected 
by  the  victories  of  the  prince,  for  he  so  often  gained  battles 
that  I  ought  to  have  accustomed  myself  to  it."  * 

Meanwhile  the  popular  faction  were  all  earnestly  anxious 
to  ascertain  the  effect  which  this  great  event  would  produce 
upon  the  court,  and  particularly  upon  the  coadjutor,  who, 
only  two  or  three  days  previously,  had  waited  upon  the 
queen,  and  expatiated  to  her,  according  to  his  constant 
habit,  on  the  popular  disaffection  which  was  hourly  increas- 
*  Mernoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


THE     COURT     OF      FRANCE.  187 

ing,  when  he  was  interrupted  by  the  cardinal,  with  an  apo- 
logue so  individually  insulting,  that  before  its  termination 
M.  de  Retz  interrupted  the  minister  in  his  turn,  by  making 
a  profound  bow  and  leaving  the  room.  Although  he  was 
thus  in  bad  odor  with  the  court,  he  was  anxious,  from  per- 
sonal considerations,  to  ascertain  the  impression  produced 
by  the  important  intelligence  of  the  Count  de  Chatillon;  and 
therefore,  notwithstanding  the  affront  which  he  had  so  re- 
cently received,  he  determined  to  present  himself  at  the 
palace,  and  to  judge  from  his  own  observation  of  the  feel- 
ings of  the  adverse  party. 

He  found  the  queen  wild  with  joy  ;  but  the  more  self-con- 
trolled cardinal  was  as  calm  as  usual ;  and  as  he  approached 
the  coadjutor  with  more  urbanity  than  he  had  latterly  dis- 
played, he  remarked  that  he  was  doubly  happy  at  the  fortu- 
nate event  which  had  just  occurred :  first,  for  the  public  benefit 
of  France,  and  secondly,  in  order  to  prove  to  the  parliament 
how  his  royal  mistress  and  himself  would  use  the  victory 
they  had  gained. 

The  coadjutor,  imbued  as  he  was  with  the  spirit  of  in- 
trigue, was  for  once  duped  by  the  words  and  manner  of 
the  minister,  and  retired  perfectly  satisfied  that,  by  some 
extraordinary  chance,  Mazarin  actually  felt  as  he  had 
spoken. 

The  Cardinal  de  Retz  also  lays  aside  his  cynicism  for  an 
instant  to  do  justice  to  the  conqueror :  "  The  news  of  the 
prince's  victory  at  Sens,"  he  says,  "  arrived  at  court  on  the 
24th  of  August ;  Chatillon  brought  it ;  and  he  told  me,  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  after  he  left  the  Palais-Royal,  that  the 
cardinal  had  exhibited  a  great  deal  less  joy  at  the  victory 
than  annoyance  at  the  circumstance  of  a  portion  of  the 
Spanish  cavalry  having  run  away.  Remark,  if  you  please, 
that  he  was  speaking  to  a  man  who  was  devoted  to  the 
prince,  and  that  he  was  speaking  of  one  of  the  noblest 
actions  that  was  ever  fought.  I  can  not  resist  telling 
you  that  the  battle  being  nearly  lost,  the  prince  recovered 


188  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

and  gained  it  by  a  single  glance  of  that  eagle  eye  which 
embraces  every  object  on  the  field,  and  is  never  daz- 
zled."* 

A  Te  Deum  was  appointed  for  the  26th  of  August;  and, 
according  to  custom,  a  double  line  was  formed  by  the  guards 
from  the  Palais-Royal  to  the  cathedral  of  Notre  Dame ; 
and,  as  soon  as  the  king  had  entered  the  church,  the  troops 
were  formed  into  three  battalions,  who  took  up  their  stations 
in  the  square  of  the  Dauphiness,  and  in  that  of  the  Palais-  " 
Royal ;  while  the  populace,  surprised  and  displeased  to  see  •*■ 

the  soldiery  remain  under  arms,  became  at  once  convinced, 

that  hostile  intentions  were  harbored  either  against  them  or 
their  leaders. 

Then-  impression  was  a  correct  one,  for  orders  had  been 
given  to  Comminges,  one  of  the  four  captains  of  the  guards, 
to  arrest  the  presidents  Blancmesnil  and  Chaiton,  and  the 
councilor  Broussel.  Comminges,  however,  remained  quietly 
posted  at  the  door  of  the  cathedral  until  the  close  of  the 
service,  awaiting  his  final  instructions,  when  as  the  regent 
appeared,  she  motioned  him  to  her  side,  and  said,  in  a  low 
voice,  "  Go,  and  may  God  assist  you."  Comminges  bow- 
ed, and  was  about  to  obey,  when,  as  a  further  encourage- 
ment, Le  Tellier,  the  Secretary  of  State,  approached  him, 
saying :  "  Courage  !  all  is  ready,  and  they  are  in  their  own 
houses." 

Instead,  therefore,  of  following  the  king  with  his  troops, 
he  remained  motionless  before  the  cathedral  as  the  royal 
procession  disappeared ;  and  the  distrust  of  the  people  in- 
creased as  they  witnessed  this  unwonted  immobility.  The 
alarm  spread ;  the  passers-by,  the  idlers,  and  the  curious, 
began  to  collect  in  groups,  to  listen  and  to  watch.  The 
military  and  diplomatic  tactics  of  Comminges,  were,  how- 
ever, an  overmatch  for  their  jealous  apprehension;  for  while 
he  remained  passively  at  the  head  of  his  men,  he  had  dis- 
patched his  carriage  with  four  of  his  guards,  a  page,  and 
*  Memoires  du  Cardinal  de  Retz. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  189 

an  exempt  to  the  house  of  Broussel,  ordering  the  exempt 
at  the  instant  in  which  he  saw  him  enter  the  street,  to  draw 
up  at  the  door  of  the  councilor,  with  the  Winds  of  the  car- 
riage closed,  and  the  door  secured.  He  had  no  sooner, 
therefore,  waited  the  time  that  he  considered  necessary  for 
the  accomplishment  of  this  order,  than  he  rode  away  quietly 
from  his  men,  and  pursued  his  road  alone  to  the  house  of 
the  councilor.  As  he  saw  him  approach,  the  exempt 
obeyed  the  directions  which  he  had  received ;  while  Com- 
minges  rode  up  to  the  door,  and  rung  the  bell.  It  was 
opened  without  hesitation  by  a  foot-boy,  and  Comminges 
instantly  placed  two  guards  upon  the  threshold,  and  ascend- 
ed with  two  others  to  the  apartment  of  Broussel.  He  found 
the  councilor  at  table,  surrounded  by  his  family,  and  the 
consternation  created  by  his  appearance  was  extreme.  Of 
all  the  party,  Broussel  alone  remained  seated.  The  captain 
of  the  Royal  Guards  explained  his  errand  ;  upon  which  the 
councilor  desired  to  know  the  nature  of  the  crime  for  which 
he  was  arrested  ;  but  Comminges  simply  replied  by  stating 
that  a  captain  of  the  guards  was  not  privileged  to  interfere 
in  matters  which  regarded  the  gentlemen  of  the  law,  and 
that  he  had  merely  received  the  order  to  arrest  him,  which 
he  was  now  come  to  execute.  As  he  spoke  he  stretched 
out  his  hand  toward  him  ;  when  an  old  female  servant,  who 
had  nursed  him  in  his  boyhood,  suddenly  threw  up  the 
window,  and  shouted,  at  the  pitch  of  her  voice :  "  Help ! 
help !  they  are  carrying  off  my  master !"  And  she  had 
no  sooner  discovered  that  her  cries  had  alarmed  the  neigh- 
borhood, than  she  sprung  to  the  door  of  the  apartment, 
vowing  that  her  master  should  not  be  torn  from  his  family 
while  she  lived  to  prevent  it ;  and  this  passionate  declaration 
was  intermingled  with  louder  and  more  vigorous  cries  for 
assistance. 

The  appeal  had  not  been  made  in  vain,  for  on  reaching 
the  door  with  his  prisoner,  Comminges  remarked  that  about 
a  score  of  persons  had  collected  in  front  of  the  house,  and 


190  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

they  discovered  upon  turning  a  corner,  to  drive  down  the 
next  street,  that  chains  had  been  stretched  across  it,  and 
they  were  consequently  compelled  to  turn  back  and  pursue 
another  route ;  which,  however,  they  were  not  permitted 
to  do  without  an  exchange  of  blows  between  the  guards 
and  the  people.  Still  the  mob  were  rather  boisterous  than 
threatening;  they  had  not  yet  measured  their  strength  with 
the  military  in  those  metropolitan  battle-fields,  where  every 
paving-stone  supplies  a  weapon,  and  every  house  a  fortress; 
and  thus  the  guards  felt  the  moral  power  which  they  still 
possessed  over  the  crowd  to  be  at  least  as  valuable  a  defense 
as  their  arms.  But,  although  the  populace  had  permitted 
the  carriage  to  reach  the  quay,  they  appeared  to  be  resolved 
that  it  should  advance  no  farther ;  the  servants  and  friends 
of  Broussel  were  traversing  the  streets  in  all  directions,  call- 
ing aloud  for  assistance  to  effect  his  rescue ;  and  that  dull 
roar  of  long-suppressed  rage  began  to  be  heard  among  the 
multitude,  which  betrayed  that  its  worst  and  fiercest  passions 
were  awakening.  Stones  began  to  cleave  the  air  on  all 
sides  ;  and  at  each  instant  powerful  hands  grasped  the 
bridles  of  the  horses.  Comminges  was,  however,  worthy 
of  the  confidence  which  had  been  placed  in  his  courage  and 
resolution;  and  having  at  length  succeeded  in  effecting  an 
opening  in  the  crowd,  he  ordered  the  coachman  to  drive 
forward  at  ..a  gallop.  Unfortunately  the  command  was  no 
sooner  obeyed  than  one  of  the  wheels  came  in  contact  with 
a  loose  paving-stone,  and  the  heavy  coach  fell  over  upon 
its  side.  It  was  instantly  surrounded  by  the  people,  but  the 
drawn  swords  of  the  soldiers  produced  their  effect;  and 
after  considerable  difficulty  the  carnage  was  righted,  when 
it  was  discovered  that  it  could  proceed  no  farther,  not  only 
on  account  of  the  shattered  wheel,  but  also  because  oppor- 
tunity had  been  taken  in  the  confusion  to  cut  the  reins.  In 
this  emergency,  Comminges  detached  ten  of  his  men  under 
the  command  of  a  sergeant,  who,  at  a  signal  from  him,  sur- 
rounded a  carnage  in  which  half  a  dozen  persons  were  sit- 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  191 

ting,  who  had  stopped  on  their  way  to  watch  the  proceed- 
ings, and  to  inquire  into  the  cause  of  the  tumult ;  and,  despite 
their  remonstrances,  compelled  them  to  alight,  and  con- 
ducted the  captured  vehicle  to  his  commander,  who,  finding 
the  crowd  increasing  rapidly,  both  in  numbers  and  in  hos- 
tility, at  once  transferred  his  visitor  to  the  carriage  thus 
obtained,  and  drove  off  in  all  haste  toward  the  Palais-Royal. 
By  a  singular  fatality,  the  second  carriage  broke  down  in  its 
turn  in  the  rue  St.  Honore  ;  when  the  people  seeing  the  op- 
portunity to  be  favorable  for  a  new  attempt  at  rescue,  fell 
resolutely  upon  the  guards,  who  were  at  length  compelled 
to  repulse  them  with  the  butt-ends  of  their  muskets,  and 
even  with  their  swords. 

The  sight  of  the  first  blood  thus  spilled  urged  the  multi- 
tude almost  to  madness.  Threats  and  wailings  were  heard 
on  every  side.  Citizens  began  to  issue  from  their  houses, 
armed  with  their  halberts  ;  others  appeared  at  the  windows, 
with  arquebuses  in  their  hands.  One  shot  was  fired,  which 
wounded  a  guard ;  and  just  as  Comminges  began  to  despair 
of  the  success  of  his  mission,  its  failure  was  prevented  by 
the  approach  of  the  carriage  of  his  uncle,  M.  Guetant,  into 
which  he  instantly  removed  his  prisoner,  and  sprang  in 
after  him.  The  horses,  which  were  fresh  and  vigorous, 
were  urged  into  a  gallop  toward  the  Tuileries,  where  a  re- 
lay was  awaiting  them,  and,  freed  at  last  from  the  pressure 
of  the  crowd,  the  carriage  drove  rapidly  toward  St.  Ger- 
main, whence  the  prisoner  was  to  be  transferred  to  Sedan. 
Meanwhile,  two  of  the  subalterns  of  Comminges  had  con- 
veyed Blancmesnil  and  Charton  to  Vincennes. 

The  consternation  created  throughout  the  capital  by  these 
arrests  was  beyond  description.  For  a  short  time  the  pop- 
ulace appeared  to  be  paralyzed,  but  it  was  merely  the 
threatening  hush  which  precedes  the  tempest.  Suddenly, 
and  simultaneously,  all  the  mighty  mass  sprang  from  its 
lethargy  ;  shouts  and  yells  reechoed  on  all  sides  ;  the  shops 
were  closed  as  if  by  magic,  and  a  living  tide  pressed,  and 


192  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

heaved,  and  jostled  against  each  other  along  the  great  thor- 
oughfares, alimented,  as  it  passed  on,  by  new  throngs,  which 
poured  forth  from  every  lateral  street  and  alley.     Those 
who  possessed  arms  tendered  them  freely  to  all  who  need- 
ed them ;  and,  in  the  midst  of  this  tumult,  the  coadjutor, 
who  sent  to  inquire  into  its  cause,  learned  the  arrest  of  the 
three  citizens ;  upon  which,  he  immediately  left  his  house 
in  the  costume  in  which  he  had  just  performed  the  mass, 
that  is,  with  his  lawn  sleeves  and  cape ;  and  proceeded  to- 
ward the  palace,  in  order  to  ascertain  the  reason  of  a  meas- 
ure so  discordant  with  the  assurances  that  he  had  lately 
received.     As  he  reached  the  Pont  Neuf,  he  encountered 
the  Marshal  de  la  Meilleraye,  who,  although  he  had  as  yet 
no  opponents  save  a  few  children  who  were  throwing  stones 
at  the  soldiery,  was  nevertheless  greatly  perplexed ;  for  he 
not  only  began  to  foresee  the  gathering  storm,  but  even  rec- 
ognized its  approach.     The  marshal  informed  him  in  detail 
of  the  proceedings  of  the  morning,  when  he  in  turn  confided 
to  the  marshal  that  he  was  about  to  proceed  to  the  Palais- 
Royal,  to  confer  upon  the  subject  with  the  queen ;  and  it 
was  mutually  agreed  that  they  should  visit  her  together, 
in  order  that  by  their  united  testimony  they  might  prevail 
both  upon  herself  and  upon  her  minister  to  take  some  steps 
to  appease  the  people,  and  to  avert  the  threatened  revolt. 
As  they  passed  along  the  streets,  they  were  followed  by  an 
immense  crowd,  who  shouted,  without  intermission,  "  Brous- 
sel !  Broussel!  Broussel !"     The  name  of  a  quiet  citizen, 
subjected  to  the  unjust  tyranny  of  an  unwise  court,  had  sud- 
denly become  the  watchword  of  a  revolted  city. 

They  found  the  regent  in  her  great  cabinet,  surrounded 
by  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  Cardinal  Mazarin,  the  Duke  de 
Longueville,*  Marshal  Villeroy,  the  Abbe  de  la  Riviere, 

*  The  Longuevilles  were  a  celebrated  illegitimate  branch  of  the 
house  of  Orleans,  originating  in  the  brave  Jehan,  Count  de  Dunois, 
bastard  son  of  Louis,  Duke  of  Orleans,  brother  of  Charles  VI.  Henry, 
the  second  duke,  mentioned  in  the  text,  was  born  in  1595 ;  was  pleni- 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  193 

Bautru,  Nogent,  and  Gintant,  the  captain  of  her  guards. 
She  received  the  coadjutor  coldly,  for  she  could  not  compel 
herself  to  admit  that  she  had  acted  with  impolicy ;  while 
the  cardinal  appeared  to  have  entirely  forgotten  his  pledges 
of  the  previous  day.  On  his  entrance,  the  coadjutor  ex- 
pressed to  the  queen  that  he  had  considered  it  his  duty  to 
wait  upon  her,  and  to  receive  her  commands,  in  order  that 
he  might,  to  the  extent  of  his  influence,  contribute  to  her 
safety.  Anne  of  Austria  replied  by  a  slight  gesture  of  sat- 
isfaction ;  but,  as  several  of  those  by  whom  she  was  attend- 
ed persisted  in  declaring  that  the  disaffection  was  a  mere 
trifle,  unworthy  of  the  royal  attention,  she  abstained  from 
any  expression  of  gratitude.  Still  the  coadjator  retained  his 
calm  and  warning  attitude ;  but,  as  the  courtiers  amused 
themselves  by  making  merry  at  the  apprehensions  of  those 
who  were  to  be  daunted  by  a  street  row,  which  only  re- 
quired the  presence  of  the  military  to  disperse  its  partisans, 
Marshal  de  la  Meilleraye  became  exasperated,  and  appeal- 
ed to  M.  de  Retz  whether  the  subject  was  at  that  moment 
susceptible  of  raillery.  The  coadjutor,  who  had  just  been 
an  eye-witness  to  the  popular  excitement,  and  who  had  no 
interest  in  suppressing  the  truth,  testified  that  the  public 
commotion  was  serious,  and  predicted  that  it  would  be- 

potentiary  at  the  Congress  of  Munster,  in  1648,  and  Governor  of  Nor- 
mandy. He  embraced  the  party  of  the  Fronde,  in  consequence  of 
having  been  refused  the  government  of  Havre.  In  1650  he  shared  the 
captivity  of  the  princes  of  Conde  and  Conti.  Having  recovered  his 
liberty  in  the  following  year,  he  withdrew  from  public  life,  and  died 
in  1663.  His  second  wife  was  Anne  de  Bourbon  Cond6,  famous  dur- 
ing the  Fronde.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Henry,  the  second  prince 
of  Conde,  and  of  Marguerite  de  Montmorency.  Eminently  beautiful 
and  fascinating,  she  attracted  to  the  faction  her  husband  and  the  princes 
of  Conde  and  Conti,  her  brothers.  She  profited  by  the  passion  with 
which  she  had  inspired  the  famous  Turenne,  to  induce  him  to  revolt 
with  the  forces  under  his  command,  and  availed  herself  of  intrigue  of 
every  description  to  effect  her  object.  On  the  conclusion  of  the  peace, 
she  retired  to  Port-Royal,  and  ultimately  to  a  Carmelite  convent,  where 
she  died,  in  1679,  amid  the  most  austere  practices  of  devotion. 

VOL.    I. 1 


194  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

come  still  more  so  ;  but  he  had  no  sooner  emitted  this  opin- 
ion, than  the  cardinal  smiled .  maliciously,  and  the  queen 
angrily  exclaimed  that  there  was  disloyalty  even  in  believ- 
ing a  revolt  to  be  possible  ;  that  such  absurd  histories  were 
calculated  Lo  excite  the  rebellion  which  they  affected  to  dep- 
recate ;  but  that  all  persons  might  make  themselves  tranquil 
upon  the  subject,  as  the  authority  of  the  king  would  soon 
restore  order. 

The  cardinal,  who  felt  that  the  regent  was  going  too  far, 
and  who  had  not  failed  to  remark  the  expression  of  coun- 
tenance with  which  the  coadjutor  had  listened  to  her  intem- 
perate reply,  said,  in  the  soft  and  cajoling  accents  which 
were  familiar  to  him  on  all  occasions  of  difficulty,  where 
he  felt  himself  to  be  dependent  upon  extraneous  assistance, 
that  he  only  wished  it  might  please  God  to  make  every  one 
speak  with  the  same  sincerity  as  the  coadjutor,  who  fear- 
ed alike  for  his  flock  and  for  the  city,  and  for  her  majes- 
ty's authority;  adding  that,  although  personally  he  by  no 
means  apprehended  that  the  danger  was  so  imminent  as 
M.  de  Retz  believed,  still  he  felt  satisfied  that  the  coadju- 
tor had  taken  the  view  of  it  which  he  represented,  and  that 
he  spoke  religiously  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  con- 
science. 

The  queen  instantly  understood  the  policy  of  her  minis- 
ter, and  smoothing  her  brow,  and  composing  her  voice,  she 
thanked  the  coadjutor  warmly  for  his  zeal,  who,  affecting 
to  be  duped  by  this  gracious  manifestation,  answered  with 
a  low  and  reverential  bow. 

At  that  moment,  every  individual  present,  save  one,  was 
playing  a  part.  The  queen  was  affecting  urbanity,  and  was 
swelling  with  concealed  anger;  the  cardinal  was  striving  to 
appear  at  his  ease,  and  was  internally  trembling  with  fear ; 
the  coadjutor  was  assuming  credulity,  and  inwardly  de- 
spising the  inane  and  presumptuous  obstinacy  of  the  proud 
woman  before  whom  he  stood  in  respectful  silence;  the 
Duke  of  Orleans  was  expressing  great  zeal,  and  uttering  a 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  1 95 

host  of  useless  suggestions,  while  in  his  heart  he  cared  little 
about  the  issue  of  the  affair ;  the  Duke  de  Longueville  look- 
ed grave,  and  indulged  in  audible  lamentations  over  the 
misguided  populace,  rejoicing  meanwhile  in  the  depths  of 
his  spirit  at  a  demonstration  which  must  tend  to  lessen  the 
arrogance  of  the  regent  and  the  cardinal;  the  Marshal  de 
Villeroy  laughed  at  the  folly  of  the  mob,  and  an  instant  af- 
terward declared,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  that  the  nation  was 
on  the  brink  of  a  precipice ;  and  finally,  Bautru  and  No- 
gent  were  jesting  and  caricaturing,  for  the  queen's  amuse- 
ment, the  agonized  excitement  of  the  old  housekeeper  of 
Broussel,  as  she  ran  through  the  streets  exciting  the  mob 
to  liberate  her  master.  The  Abbe  de  la  Riviere  alone  was 
calm  and  impassive,  and  persisted  that  the  whole  affair  was 
too  ridiculous  for  notice.  The  Marshal  de  la  Meilleraye 
became  infected  by  this  atmosphere  of  real  or  affected  se- 
curity, and  began,  notwithstanding  his  late  alarm,  to  con- 
cede that  he  had  perhaps  exaggerated  the  actual  amount 
of  danger,  and  given  to  the  popular  outbreak  an  importance 
of  which  it  was  undeserving,  when  the  door  of  the  cabinet 
was  suddenly  opened,  and  the  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  royal 
guards  entered  to  apprise  the  queen  that  the  people  were 
becoming  bolder  and  bolder,  and  threatened  to  force  the 
troops.  As  the  marshal  was,  according  to  De  Retz,  a  com- 
position of  contradictions,  he  immediately  turned  his  anger 
against  the  citizens ;  and  instead  of  resuming  his  original 
opinion,  requested  that  he  might  be  allowed  to  place  him- 
self at  the  head  of  the  four  companies  of  the  guards,  taking 
with  him  all  the  courtiers  who  might  be  lounging  in  the 
antechambers,  and  all  the  soldiers  whom  he  met  on  his 
way ;  when  he  assured  the  queen  that  he  would  at  once 
disperse  this  insolent  rabble.  The  regent,  who  was  always 
inclined  to  adopt  violent  measures,  at  once  conceded  the 
point ;  but,  as  it  was  a  grave  measure  thus  to  resort  to  ex- 
tremity while  a  chance  remained  of  pacificating  the  people, 
the  proposition  of  the  marshal  remained  unseconded  ;  a  fact 


190  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

which  somewhat  chilled  the  enthusiasm  of  both  the  queen 
and  her  adviser ;  and  at  that  precise  moment  the  Chancel- 
lor Seguier  presented  himself,  pale  and  trembling  to  a  de- 
gree which  so  affrighted  the  regent,  that  she  hurriedly  in- 
quired what  had  happened.  Little  accustomed  as  the 
chancellor  might  be  to  tell  the  truth,  his  terror  was  on  thi> 
occasion  more  powerful  than  habit ;  and  he  related  every 
thing  he  had  witnessed,  rather  exaggerating  than  diminish 
ing  events.  He  had  no  sooner  finished  his  recital,  than  the 
court  party  began  to  look  upon  the  real  state  of  affairs  with 
more  prudence  than  they  had  hitherto  evinced ;  when  he 
was  in  his  turn  succeeded  by  M.  de  Senneterre,  as  calm  as 
the  chancellor  had  been  excited,  who  came  to  communicate 
the  fact  that  the  people  were  beginning  to  relax  in  vio- 
lence, that  they  had  ceased  to  arm  themselves,  and  that, 
with  a  little  patience,  all  would  go  well.  Immediately 
there  was  a  general  outcry  in  favor  of  the  marshal's  propo- 
sition, and  assurances  were  poured  forth  to  the  queen  that 
a  proper  display  of  severity  would  at  once  put  down  the 
revolt ;  but,  meanwhile,  all  these  idle  discussions  were  en- 
tailing great  loss  of  time  at  a  conjuncture  when  every  instant 
was  precious ;  and  old  Guitaut,*  who,  although  he  bore  no 
great  reputation  for  intelligence,  was  nevertheless  known 
to  be  a  zealous  and  faithful  servant  to  the  crown,  ventured 
to  speak  in  his  turn,  and,  in  even  a  hoarser  voice  than  usual, 
declared,  that  something  ought  to  be  done  one  way  or  the 
other ;  adding  that  they  could  only  be  fools  or  traitors  who 
remained  inactive  at  such  a  moment. 

"  And  what  is  your  advice  1"  asked  the  cardinal  (with 
whom  the  guardsman  was  no  favorite),  in  a  tone  of  pique. 

"  My  advice  is,  sir,"  replied  Guitaut,  abruptly,  "  that  you 
give  up  that  old  rascal,  Broussel,  dead  or  alive." 

"  The  first  measure,"  said  the  coadjutor,  "  would  neither 
accord  with  the  prudence  nor  the  piety  of  the  queen ;  but 
the  second  might  put  an  end  to  the  disturbances." 
*  Captain  of  the  Queen's  Guard. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  197 

"I  understand  you,  sir;"  was  the  retort  of  the  regent*, 
"  you  wish  me  to  set  Broussel  free,  but  I  would  sooner 
strangle  him  with  my  own  hands ;"  and  as  6he  spoke,  she 
thrust  them  almost  into  the  face  of  the  coadjutor,  adding, 
"as  well  as  those  who "but  here  the  cardinal  inter- 
posed, and  he  had  scarcely  whispered  a  few  words  in  her 
ear,  when  she  recovered  her  self-possession,  and  fell  back 
upon  her  chair  with  affected  composure. 

The  next  intrusion  upon  the  cabinet  was  that  of  the  civil- 
lieutenant,  M.  Dreux  d'Aubray,  a  living  embodiment  of 
animated  terror,  who  recapitulated  his  own  perils  in  trav- 
ersing the  city  so  graphically,  that  he  succeeded  in  once 
more  spreading  alarm  in  the  royal  circle.  The  excited 
populace  began  to  assume  a  more  formidable  aspect  in  the 
eyes  of  the  regent  and  her  minister ;  it  was  no  longer  a  vile 
mob,  as  absurd  as  it  was  reckless ;  but  grew  suddenly  into 
consequence,  as  a  menacing  mass  of  human  beings,  resolved 
to  throw  off  the  yoke  by  which  their  shoulders  had  been 
galled,  and  the  incubus  which  had  weighed  down  their  ener- 
gies. At  length,  therefore,  it  was  admitted  that  the  event 
required  consideration,  and  a  sort  of  council  was  improvised, 
at  which  each  person  was  invited  to  state  his  opinion ; 
when  as  the  coadjutor,  the  two  marshals,  and  Guitaut,  de- 
clared it  to  be  their  advice  that  Broussel  should  be  liberated, 
the  cardinal  at  length  joined  their  party,  but  added,  that 
as  the  prisoner  was  not  in  Paris,  he  could  only  be  given  up 
on  the  following  day. 

The  coadjutor  at  once  understood  that  this  clause  was  a 
mere  pretext  to  gain  time;  and  that  if  the  people  remained 
armed,  Broussel  would  be  restored  to  them  ;  but  that  should 
they  disperse  upon  the  faith  of  the  promise,  measures  would 
be  adopted  to  prevent  a  recurrence  of  the  outbreak,  while 
the  pledge  would,  without  hesitation,  be  falsified ;  a  con- 
viction in  which  he  was  strengthened  when  Mazarin  turned 
toward  him,  and  remarked,  with  a  bland  smile,  that  no 
one  could  with  so  much  propriety  as  himself  announce  this 


1 98  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

concession  to  the  citizens,  being,  as  he  was,  in  some  degree 
their  deputy.  The  coadjutor  had  Florentine  blood  in  his 
veins,  however,  as  well  as  the  cardinal ;  and  although  the 
demand  was  not  flattering  either  to  Anne  of  Austria  or  her 
minister,  he  required  to  be  furnished  with  a  written  promise 
which  might  convince  the  crowd  that  he  did  not  act  upon 
his  mere  personal  authority  ;  but  the  Marshal  de  la  Meille- 
raye,  more  impetuous  and  less  suspicious  than  himself, 
dragged  him  away,  asserting  that  the  words  of  the  queen 
were  better  than  any  written  document.  M.  de  Retz  was, 
nevertheless,  far  from  convinced ,  and  foreseeing  the  ruin 
of  his  popularity,  should  he  be  made  the  organ  of  a  decep- 
tion, he  withdiew  from  the  grasp  of  the  eager  soldier,  and 
was  about  to  renew  his  demand,  when  he  discovered  that 
the  regent  had  already  retired  to  an  inner  apartment ;  while 
Mazarin  repulsed  him  with  extended  hands,  saying,  in  his 
softest  accents,  "  Go,  Mr.  Coadjutor,  go,  and  save  the  State." 
The  body-guards  then  lifted  him  from  the  floor  in  their 
arms,  and  carried  him  out  of  the  palace,  shouting,  "You 
alone,  Mr.  Coadjutor,  can  remedy  the  evil ;  go — go  !" 
Thus  M.  de  Retz  found  himself,  without  any  volition  of  his 
own,  once  more  in  the  street,  in  his  lawn  sleeves  and  cape, 
surrounded  by  a  throng  of  people  among  whom  he  en- 
deavored to  force  a  passage,  showering  blessings  on  all 
sides  as  he  pressed  forward.  This,  however,  was  not  what 
the  mob  had  come  there  to  seek  ;  and  accordingly  he  was 
assailed  by  new  cries  of  "  Broussel !  Broussel !  Give  us  back 
Broussel !"  Resolved,  nevertheless,  to  make  no  promise 
which  he  was  convinced  would  not  be  ultimately  performed, 
he  continued  to  wave  his  hands  with  increased  unction  to 
the  right  and  left,  with  all  the  solemnity  that  he  could  com- 
pel in  such  a  situation,  when  the  Marshal  de  la  Meilleraye, 
at  the  head  of  the  light-horsemen  of  the  guard,  advanced 
toward  the  heaving  mass,  brandishing  his  sword  above  his 
head,  and  shouting,  in  his  turn,  "  Yes,  yes — long  live  the 
king,  and  liberty  to  Broussel  !" 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  199 

Unfortunately,  although  his  drawn  sword  was  visible  on 
all  sides,  his  words  were  rendered  inaudible  by  the  combined 
exclamations  of  the  people,  who  became  still  more  furious 
as  they  witnessed  his  apparently  threatening  gesture.  The 
cry  to  arms  was  heard,  and  a  street-porter,  with  a  sword 
in  his  hand,  rushed  upon  the  marshal,  who  killed  him  by  a 
pistol  shot.  Instantly  the  tumult  deepened.  The  crowd, 
which  had  followed  the  coadjutor  from  the  palace,  where 
they  had  awaited  his  reappearance,  drove,  or  rather  earned 
him  to  the  cross  of  Trahoir,  where  they  found  the  marshal 
contending  against  a  strong  body  of  citizens  who  had  ob- 
structed his  passage,  and  who  were  returning  the  fire  of  the 
light-horsemen  with  considerable  energy.  The  moment 
was  critical,  and  trusting  that  his  sacerdotal  costume  might 
inspire  respect,  where  intimidation  had  failed,  the  coadjutor 
threw  himself  between  the  combatants ;  when  the  marshal 
profited  by  the  circumstance  to  extricate  himself  from  the 
difficulty  into  which  he  had  been  betrayed  by  his  own  impet- 
uosity, and  ordered  his  men  to  cease  firing.  The  greater 
number  of  the  crowd,  who  were  near  enough  to  understand 
the  motive  of  this  sudden  termination  of  hostilities,  imitated 
the  example  of  the  troops,  but  those  who  were  on  the  out- 
skirts of  the  throng  still  continued  their  fire  ;  while  twenty 
or  thirty  individuals  who  had  forced  their  way  from  the  rue 
des  Prouvaires,  armed  with  halberts  and  musketoons,  not 
seeing,  or  affecting  not  to  see,  the  coadjutor,  pressed  so 
closely  upon  the  light-horsemen  near  whom  he  stood,  that 
they  broke  the  arm  of  M.  de  Fontrailles  who  was  beside 
the  marshal,  wounded  one  of  the  pages  who  carried  the 
cassock  of  the  coadjutor,  and  knocked  M.  de  Retz  himself 
down  with  a  stone.  He  had  just  risen  to  his  knee  when  an 
apothecary's  boy  placed  the  ban-el  of  his  musket  against 
his  head  ;  but  as  the  prelate  was  thrusting  aside  the  weapon, 
the  young  man  fortunately  recognized  his  opponent,  turned 
aside  his  arm,  and,  while  assisting  him  to  rise,  raised  a 
shout  of,  "  Long  live  the  coadjutor !"     The  cry  was  re- 


200  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

echoed  on  all  sides,  and  as  the  people  crowded  about  their 
idol,  the  marshal  profited  by  the  movement  to  retire  toward 
the  Palais-Royal 

The  coadjutor,  on  his  side,  directed  his  steps  toward  the 
market-hall,  with  a  dense  mob  following  closely  upon  his 
heels ;  but  there,  to  use  his  own  expression,  he  found  all 
the  swarm  of  salesmen  under  arms,  and  it  became  necessary 
for  him  to  explain  himself. 

He  had  been  seen  to  enter  the  Palais-Royal,  and  to  leave 
it;  and  every  one  required  to  be  informed  of  the  nature  of 
the  queen's  answer.  Having  no  confidence  in  that  which 
he  had  really  received,  and  pressed  upon  on  all  sides  by  the 
crowd,  the  coadjutor  was  glad  to  be  provided  with  an  ex- 
pedient for  escape;  and  consequently  he  volunteered  to 
return  once  more  to  the  palace.  The  proposition  was 
eagerly  welcomed  ;  and  he  accordingly  retraced  his  steps  at 
the  head  of  about  forty  thousand  individuals. 

At  the  gate  of  the  sergeants,  he  found  La  Meilleraye, 
who  embraced  him  affectionately,  thanking  him  for  the 
efficient  assistance  which  he  had  rendered ;  and  as  they 
entered  the  queen's  presence  the  marshal  exclaimed  that  he 
presented  to  Her  Majesty  the  man  to  whom  he  owed  his 
life,  and  to  whom  she  herself  was  indebted  for  the  safety  of 
her  city.  Anne  of  Austria  smiled ;  but  there  was  so  much 
ambiguity  in  the  expression  of  her  thanks,  that  M.  de  Retz 
was  not  deceived  for  a  moment.  He  did  not,  however, 
suffer  this  distrust  to  appear;  but  as  the  marshal  recom- 
menced his  panegyric,  he  cut  it  short  by  addressing  himself, 
in  his  turn,  to  the  regent,  observing  that  it  was  not  of  him  or 
of  his  services  that  it  was  expedient  to  speak  at  such  a  mo- 
ment, but  of  Paris,  which,  submissive  and  disarmed,  had  just 
thrown  itself  at  her  feet. 

The  face  of  the  queen  flushed  with  anger  as  she  exclaim- 
ed, that  the  city  was  rebellious  and  not  submissive ;  although 
had  it  really  been  in  the  state  of  revolt  which  had  been  rep- 
resented to  her,  she   could  not  comprehend  how  it  had 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  201 

become  appeased  in  so  short  a  time.  The  marshal,  who 
understood  the  covert  taunt  conveyed  in  this  remark,  again 
insisted  upon  the  truth  of  what  he  had  advanced ;  and  losing 
patience  at  the  pertinacity  with  which  she  sacrificed  her 
interest  to  her  temper,  he  declared  that  an  honest  man, 
seeing  how  much  she  was  misled  by  those  about  her,  was 
compelled  in  duty  to  speak  the  truth ;  and  he  consequently 
assured  Her  Majesty  that  if  she  did  not,  in  the  course  of  the 
day,  set  Broussel  at  liberty,  there  would  not  be  one  stone  left 
upon  another  in  all  Paris. 

The  coadjutor  was  about  to  follow  upon  the  same  text, 
when  Anne  of  Austria  with  a  sarcastic  laugh  desired  him  to 
go  and  rest  himself,  as  he  must  require  repose  after  so  much, 
and  such  effective  exertion.  M.  de  Retz,  who  did  not  re- 
quire a  repetition  of  the  hint,  at  once  left  the  palace,  indignant 
at  the  affront  to  which  he  had  been  subjected  ;  and  although 
he  commanded  himself  sufficiently  not  to  utter  a  word  as  he 
walked  homeward  which  might  embitter  the  mood  of  the 
citizens,  there  was  a  feeling  at  his  heart  which  argued  no  good 
to  the  court  party,  and  especially  to  the  queen-regent. 

Yielding  to  the  clamor  of  the  crowd,  he  mounted  the 
driving-box  of  his  carriage,  to  explain  the  issue  of  his  visit 
to  the  palace  ;  and  thence  he  acquainted  them  that  he  had 
communicated  to  his  royal  mistress  the  fact  of  their  renewed 
obedience,  and  had  assured  Her  Majesty  that  they  had 
laid  down  their  arms  ;  to  which  she  had  replied  that  this  was 
the  only  line  of  conduct  calculated  to  insure  the  liberty  of 
the  prisoners.  He  added,  moreover,  whatever  he  imagined 
might  soften  their  excited  passions ;  and  the  supper-hour 
having  fortunately  arrived,  the  force  of  habit  caused  the 
throng  to  disperse,  if  not  satisfied,  at  least  tranquil.  So  far 
the  coadjutor  had  acted,  if  not  with,  at  least  for,  the  court 
party ;  but  having  found  it  necessary  to  lose  blood,  in  order 
to  counteract  the  ill  effects  of  the  blow  which  he  had  re- 
ceived upon  the  head,  his  friends  gathered  about  his  bed, 
and  informed  him  that  he  had  been  made  the  butt  of  the 


202  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

courtiers,  who  had  amused  the  queen  throughout  the  even- 
in"-  hy  turning  him  and  his  exertions  into  ridicule.  This 
information  was  as  a  spark  dropped  upon  tinder ;  self-rely- 
ing, proud,  and  ambitious,  De  Retz  could  better  bear  any 
thing  than  to  see  himself  the  subject  of  a  jest;  and  he  an- 
swered bitterly  that  he  had  at  least  spared  himself  the 
mortification  of  explaining  his  services,  which  was  always 
insupportable  to  an  honest  man;  but  that  had  he  remained 
quietly  at  home  at  such  a  moment,  the  queen,  to  whom  he 
was  indebted  for  his  rank,  would  not  have  had  cause  to  be 
satisfied  with  bis  conduct.  He  was  assured,  in  reply,  that  she 
was  even  now  far  from  being  so ;  for  that  Madame  de  Na- 
vailles  and  Madame  de  Motteville  had  just  told  the  Prince 
de  Guemenee  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  Palais-Royal  were 
convinced  he  had  done  all  in  his  power  to  excite  the  people ; 
and  finally  a  messenger  reached  him  from  the  Marshal  de 
la  Meilleraye,  urging  him  to  leave  Paris  on  the  instant,  as 
a  suggestion  had  been  already  emitted  and  discussed  at  the 
Louvre,  which  had  for  its  purport  his  arrest  and  imprison- 
ment at  Quimper-Corentin,*  while  Broussel  was  to  be  sent 
to  Havre-de-Grace ;  and  at  daylight  the  chancellor  was  to 
interdict  all  future  meetings  of  the  parliament,  and  to  com- 
mand its  members  to  retire  to  Montarges. 

De  Retz  was  far,  however,  from  evincing  any  inclination 
to  profit  by  the  warning  of  the  marshal.  He  saw  himself 
at  the  height  of  his  ambition — about  to  become  the  head 
of  a  faction — and,  moreover,  urged  to  revolt  by  the  injuries 

*  Quimper-Corentin  was  the  ancient  capital  of  Lower  Brittany,  and 
is  now  the  chief  city  of  the  Department  of  Finisterre,  at  the  junction 
of  the  Odet  and  the  Fleyr,  rivers  which  are  navigable  for  vessels  of  800 
tuns.  The  city  is. situated  at  three  leagues  and  a  half  from  the  ocean. 
Its  population  amounts  to  9900  souls.  It  has  a  bishopric  suffragant  to 
Tours,  which  was  established  in  the  early  centuries  of  the  Christian 
era ;  tribunals  of  criminal  and  common  law,  two  colleges,  an  agricul- 
tural society,  a  school  of  navigation,  a  library  of  7000  volumes,  and  a 
theater.  Quimper  also  possesses  a  very  fine  gothic  cathedral,  and  other 
remarkable  monuments.     It  is  distant  136  leagues  from  Paris. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  203 

and  injustice  of  which  he  felt  that  he  had  been  made  the  object. 
He  accordingly  marshaled  his  forces,  exerted  his  influence, 
became  the  disloyal  subject  he  had  already  been  accused  of 
being,  displayed  considerable  military  talent,  and  succeeded 
in  revolting  the  city.  Before  eight  o'clock  on  the  following 
morning  the  disturbances  had  spread  over  the  whole  of 
Paris ;  every  one  was  armed,  even  to  the  women  and  chil- 
dren ;  and  almost,  as  if  by  magic,  in  an  incredibly  short 
space  of  time  more  than  twelve  hundred  barricades  were 
formed.  The  chancellor,  hustled  on  every  side,  and  seeing 
the  excited  populace  appear  to  rise  from  the  very  pavement, 
fled  with  great  difficulty,  pursued  by  shouts  and  maledic- 
tions, to  the  Hotel  d'O,  at  the  extremity  of  the  quay  of  St. 
Augustine  ;  where,  accompanied  by  his  brother,  the  Bishop 
of  Meaux,  he  concealed  himself  in  a  small  closet  behind  the 
tapestried  hangings,  and  escaped,  as  by  a  miracle,  through 
the  cupidity  of  the  mob,  who  soon  became  so  intent  upon 
pillaging  the  house,  and  on  carrying  off  the  magnificent  fur- 
niture, splendid  hangings,  and  rich  chimney-ornaments,  that 
they  relaxed  in  their  pursuit  of  the  owner. 

Meanwhile  a  large  circle  had  assembled  in  the  apartments 
of  the  regent,  among  whom  were  all  the  princesses  and  the 
unhappy  Queen  of  England,  with  her  little  daughter,  who 
had  fled  from  one  revolted  nation  only  to  find  themselves 
once  more  in  an  asylum  which  threatened  to  become  equally 
unsafe.  "  I  went  to  the  Palais-Royal,"  says  Mademoiselle, 
"  where  I  found  every  one  in  great  excitement,  bewildered 
by  this  commotion,  so  inconsiderable  in  itself,  but  rendered 
important  by  the  results  which  might  ensue,  and  by  past  ex- 
amples with  which  all  our  histories  are  filled.  As  for  me,  I 
had  never  seen  any  thing  of  the  kind ;  while,  not  being  of  an 
age  to  reflect,  all  these  novelties  delighted  me  ;  and,  more- 
over, as  I  was  not  altogether  satisfied  with  either  the  queen 
or  Monsieur,  it  was  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to  see  them  in  a 
state  of  perplexity."  * 

*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


204  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

The  disaffection,  or  rather  the  rehellion,  soon  attained  to 
such  a  height  that  the  memhers  of  the  parliament  proceed- 
ed in  their  robes  to  the  palace,  to  expostulate  with  the  queen, 
who  did  not,  however,  suffer  the  president  to  explain  the 
purport  of  his  errand ;  but  immediately  that  they  appeared, 
addressed  them  with  great  vehemence,  demanding  if  they 
did  not  consider  it  both  extraordinary  and  shameful  that 
during  the  time  of  the  late  queen,  her  mother-in-law,  they 
had  permitted  the  arrest  and  imprisonment  of  the  Prince  de 
Conde  without  exhibiting  the  least  resentment,  when  for 
the  miserable  and  obscure  Broussel  they  and  the  people 
were  guilty  of  proceedings  which  would  make  posterity 
regard  them  with  horror  as  the  cause  of  such  disorders; 
while  the  king,  her  son,  would  one  day  have  a  right  to  com- 
plain of  their  conduct,  and  to  punish  it  ] 

To  this  intemperate  appeal  the  president  replied,  that  it 
was  no  time  for  recrimination  ;  but  that  in  the  actual  state 
of  the  population  some  remedy  must  be  applied,  in  order 
to  pacify  the  public  mind ;  adding,  that  he  should  advise  Her 
Majesty  to  avoid  compelling  them  to  deliver  her  prisoner 
by  force,  and  to  give  him  up  through  her  own  will  and 
clemency. 

Anne  of  Austria,  however,  critical  as  her  position  had 
become,  disdained  to  yield ;  and  after  the  exchange  of  a 
few  more  words  little  calculated  to  increase  her  popularity, 
she  abruptly  turned  her  back  upon  the  whole  body,  and 
withdrew  into  her  cabinet,  where  Mazarin  was  already 
awaiting  her ;  whereupon  the  president  dispatched  a  mes- 
senger imploring  her  to  return,  and  to  accord  them  a  second 
brief  audience.  The  queen  did  not,  nevertheless,  reappear ; 
but  she  was  represented  by  the  chancellor,  who  informed 
the  parliament  that  if  they  exhibited  in  future  more  re- 
spect f< jr  the  will  of  the  king,  the  regent  would,  on  her  side, 
concede  them  all  the  favor  which  might  depend  upon  her 
pleasure.  As  this  message  was  extremely  ambiguous,  the 
president  demanded  an  explanation  ;  upon  which  the  chan- 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  205 

cellor  replied,  that,  provided  the  parliament  would  bind  itself 
never  to  assemble  in  future  for  the  discussion  of  state  busi- 
ness, or  attempt  to  control  the  edicts,  the  regent  would 
deliver  up  the  prisoners. 

The  members  then  retired,  declaring  that  they  would 
deliberate  upon  the  proposition ;  but  as  they  brought  no 
pledge  to  the  people  that  their  reclamation  had  been  con- 
ceded, the  fury  of  the  mob  increased  to  such  a  height  that 
they  were  assailed  not  only  with  reproaches  but  with  men- 
ace; and  at  length  an  outcry  was  raised  that  they  should 
be  compelled  to  return  to  the  Palais-Royal,  and  bring  either 
Broussel  in  person,  or  Mazarin  as  a  hostage.  At  this 
threat  the  alarm  of  the  parliament  became  so  great  that, 
with  the  exception  of  the  president,  nearly  all  the  members 
escaped  by  degrees  among  the  crowd.  He  alone  preserved 
his  self-possession ;  and  rallying  the  few  of  his  body  who  still 
remained  near  him,  he  retraced  his  steps  slowly  toward  the 
palace. 

They  were  already  aware  in  the  royal  apartments  of 
what  had  happened ;  and,  moreover,  the  sounds  of  the 
not  had  reached  the  ears  of  the  regent  herself,  while  the 
shouts  and  threats  which  accompanied  the  return  of  the 
deputies  were  distinctly  audible.  She  was  consequently 
more  disposed  than  before  to  listen  to  their  arguments  ; 
and  the  ladies  of  the  court  having  thrown  themselves  at 
her  feet  to  entreat  her  to  yield,  she  attempted  no  further 
resistance.  "Well,  gentlemen,"  she  said,  with  the  best 
grace  she  could  assume,  "  consider  what  it  is  expedient  to 
decide."  The  parliament  assembled  in  the  great  gallery, 
to  deliberate,  and  at  the  expiration  of  an  hour  returned 
to  her  presence  ;  when  the  first  president,  in  the  name 
of  the  whole  body,  assured  her  of  his  loyalty  and  that  of 
his  colleagues,  and  then  informed  her  that  there  should 
be  no  meeting  held  until  after  the  festival  of  St.  Martin, 
This  was,  of  course,  rather  a  trace  than  a  peace,  but  the 
court  was  no  longer  in  a  position  to  dictate  terms  ;  and 


206  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

accordingly  the  queen  affected  to  be  satisfied  by  the  par- 
tial concession,  and  immediately  gave  a  written  order  for 
the  liberation  of  the  prisoners,  coupled  with  a  command 
ihat  one  of  the  king's  carriages  should  be  dispatched  to 
brino-  Broussel  back  to  Paris.  "  When  it  had  been  deter- 
mined to  give  up  the  prisoners,"  says  Mademoiselle, 
"the  deputies  retired  proudly,  and  with  the  air  of  peo- 
ple who  wished  you  to  believe  that  they  had  prevailed 
as  a  matter  of  course,  and  knew  the  persons  with  whom 
they  had  to  deal.  Henceforth  they  began  to  frontier  the 
cardinal."* 

This  word  fronde,  rendered  so  famous  by  the  civil 
war  which  adopted  it  as  its  title,  simply  signifies  sling; 
but  a  sling  of  peculiar  construction,  at  that  period  greatly 
in  vogue  with  the  boys  of  Paris,  who  practiced  it  in  the 
city  moat,  and  occasionally  terminated  in  bloodshed  the 
rivalry  which  was  begun  in  sport.  The  fronde,  properly 
so  called,  was  formed  of  a  narrow  strap  of  leather,  ter- 
minated at  each  end  by  a  cord ;  some  missile  was  placed 
upon  the  strap,  which  was  then  doubled,  the  two  cords 
being  held  in  the  right  hand ;  the  fronde  was  then  re- 
volved, first  slowly,  but  subsequently  at  speed,  and  when 
this  could  no  longer  be  increased,  one  of  the  cords  was 
suffered  to  escape,  by  which  means  the  fronde  opened 
and  the  missile  was  projected  with  great  force.  The 
fronde  was  the  usual  weapon  of  the  foot-soldiers  in  ancient 
times,  and  during  the  middle  agres.  The  inhabitants  of 
the  Balearic  Islands  (Minorca  and  Majorca)  were  cele- 
brated as  the  most  expert  frondeurs  in  the  world.  In 
their  infancy,  in  order  to  render  them  proficient,  bread 
was  given  to  them  which  they  were  not  allowed  to  eat 
until  they  had  projected  it  from  the  fronde.  The  Greeks 
and  Romans  had  frondeurs,  as  well  as  the  Franks,  and 
the  other  nations  of  the  middle  ages.  The  invention  of' 
firearms  superseded  the  use  of  this  primitive  weapon. 
*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  207 

Mazarin  had  remarked  a  few  days  previously  to  the  riots, 
that  the  parliament  were  like  schoolboys  fronding  in  the 
Paris  ditches,  who  ran  away  upon  the  approach  of  the 
civil-lieutenant,  only  to  meet  again  when  he  was  out  of 
sight;  and  this  witticism  was  repeated  to  the  deputies, 
who  were  extremely  wounded  by  the  comparison.  On 
the  morning  of  the  barricades,  the  councilor  Barillon, 
seeing  the  turn  that  affairs  were  taking,  sang  a  couplet 
which  he  had  improvised  upon  a  popular  air.  It  may  be 
thus  rendered  : — 

"  A  wind  of  the  Fronde 

This  morning  has  set  in ; 
I  think  it  blows 

Against  the  Mazarin ; 
A  wind  of  the  Fronde 

This  morning  has  set  in." 

Poor  as  it  was,  it  became  instantly  the  fashion.  The  court 
party  were  called  Mazarins,  and  those  of  the  parliament 
Frondeurs.  The  coadjutor  and  his  friends  who  had  ex- 
cited the  movement  accepted  the  title,  and  adopted  hat- 
cords  which  bore  the  form  of  a  sling.  Immediately  bread, 
gloves,  handkerchiefs,  fans,  and  scarfs,  were  all  a  lafronde; 
and  thenceforward  the  revolution  might  come  when  it 
pleased ;  the  name  by  which  it  was  to  be  distinguished  had 
been  decided. 

The  people  were  only  appeased,  on  the  return  of  the 
deputies,  by  the  exhibition  of  the  order  which  the  nephew 
of  Broussel  displayed  unfolded  to  convince  them  of  the 
sincerity  of  the  parliament ;  while  even  then  they  still  de- 
clared that,  having  already  been  duped,  they  would  remain 
under  arms  all  night;  and  that  if,  by  ten  o'clock  on  the 
following  morning,  Broussel  had  not  arrived,  they  would 
sack  the  Palais-Royal,  not  leave  one  stone  upon  another, 
"and  hang  Mazarin  over  the  ruins. 

All  was  alarm  at  court.     The  citizens  continued  their 
firing,  and  the  advanced  force  of  the  rebels  was  so  near 


208  LOUIS  XIV.  AND  THE  COURT  OP  FRANCE. 

the  palace  that  it  was  within  ten  paces  of  the  sentinels  of 
the  guard.  The  queen,  bold  as  she  was,  never  closed  her 
eyes  during  the  night ;  and  as  Mazarin  was  quite  aware  of 
the  threats  which  had  been  fulminated  against  him,  he 
was  even  still  less  at  his  ease,  and  remained  in  his  closet 
ready  dressed  for  flight.  He  had  one  body  of  guards  in 
his  apartments,  another  at  his  gate,  and  a  regiment  of 
cavalry  awaiting  him  in  the  Bois-de-Boulogne,  in  the 
event  of  his  being  compelled  to  leave  Paris.  On  the 
following  morning  the  riots  increased ;  nine  o'clock  had 
struck,  and  Broussel  had  not  arrived.  The  citizens  de- 
clared that  they  would  liberate  the  Duke  de  Beaufort, 
and  place  him  at  their  head ;  and  the  regent  and  her 
minister  made  preparations  for  instant  departure.  In  an 
hour,  however,  all  the  yells  and  execrations  were  ex- 
changed for  shouts  of  joy  and  cries  of  triumph.  Broussel 
had  entered  the  city,  and  the  people  were  carrying  him 
in  their  arms,  in  the  midst  of  lowered  chains  and  broken 
barriers.  Thus  they  bore  him  straight  to  Notre-Dame, 
where  a  Te  Deum  was  sung;  while  the  poor  councilor, 
ashamed  of  the  demonstrations  of  which  he  was  made  the 
object,  did  not  await  the  conclusion  of  the  mass,  but  escaped 
by  a  side  door,  and  reached  his  own  house,  quite  bewilder- 
ed to  find  himself  suddenly  endowed  with  a  popularity  of 
which  he  had  previously  entertained  no  suspicion. 

Meanwhile  the  parliament  assembled,  and  issued  a  de- 
cree, ordaining  the  removal  of  all  the  chains  and  bar- 
riers, of  whatever  description,  which  had  been  erected  in 
the  city  during  the  riots;  and  compelling  the  citizens 
immediately  to  return  to  their  dwellings,  and  resume  their 
avocations.  They  were  once  more  masters  of  Paris,  and  felt 
that  the  regent  and  her  party  were  in  their  hands.  Two  hours 
afterward  every  vestige  of  the  late  disturbances  had  disap- 
peared, and  the  capital  was  as  tranquil  as  though  the  trans- 
actions of  the  two  previous  days  had  been  a  dream. 


M. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


Removal  of  the  Court  to  Ruel — Recall  o{  the  Prince  de  Conde — Arrest 
of  Chavigny — Rivalry  between  Gaston  d'Orleans  and  Conde — Dec- 
laration of  the  Parliament  against  Mazarin — Private  Marriage  of  the 
Queen  and  the  Cardinal — Madame  de  Beauvais — The  Cardinal's  Hat 
— Reply  of  the  Marshal  d'Estrees — Politeness  of  the  young  King — 
Mazarinades — Reconciliation  of  the  Duke  d'Orleans  with  the  Court 
— The  Abbe  de  la  Riviere — Favor  of  the  Prince  de  Conde ;  his  ill- 
judged  Advice — The  Twelfth-Cake — Evasion  of  the  Court  from  Paris 
— Mademoiselle  in  the  Queen's  Coach — The  Court  at  St.  Germain — 
Effect  of  the  King's  Flight  upon  the  Populace. 

Paris  having  become  insupportable  to  the  regent,  the 
court  removed  to  Ruel,  under  the  pretext  of  a  necessity 
which  existed  for  renovating  the  Palais-Royal.  The  king, 
the  queen,  and  the  Duke  d'Anjou  were  all  just  recovering 
from  the  effects  of  small-pox,  and  Mazarin  from  those  of 
terror,  when  they  decided  on  this  change  of  residence.  The 
Queen  of  England  occupied  St.  Germain,  and  the  Prince 
of  Wales    was    in   Holland.     The    Duke    d'Orleans    and 


210  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

Mademoiselle  remained  in  the  capital.  Nothing,  under 
ordinary  circumstances,  could  have  heen  more  simple  than 
such  an  arrangement ;  but  it,  nevertheless,  at  that  pre- 
cise moment,  bore  greatly  the  aspect  of  a  flight.  The 
king  entered  his  carriage  at  six  o'clock  in  the  moining, 
and  took  the  cardinal  along  with  him ;  the  Duke  d'Anjou 
followed  two  hours  later,  with  M.  de  Perefixe  ;  while  the 
queen,  "  as  the  boldest  of  the  party,"  says  Madame  de 
Motteville,  "  remained  until  the  last,  went  to  confession  at 
the  convent  of  the  Cordeliers,*  and  took  leave  of  her  good 
nuns  at  Val-de-Grace,  before  she  left  in  her  turn."  t 

As,  during  the  residence  of  the  court  at  Ruel,  the 
parliament  continued  to  assemble  daily,  to  fronder  the 
cardinal,  and  even  took  some  steps  which  were  obnox- 
ious to  the  regent,  the  Queen  of  England  was  compelled 
to  vacate  St.  Germain,  in  order  that  the  court  might 
there  take  up  its  abode ;  and  she  accordingly  returned  to 
Paris. 

The  Duke  d'Orleans  remained  behind,  with  a  view  to 
accomplish  an  understanding  with  the  parliament,  in  the 
event  of  new  difficulties.  This  prince,  who  had  for  some 
time  passed  nearly  the  whole  of  his  life  in  retirement  at 
Blois,  began  to  emerge  from  his  retreat,  as  timid,  but  as 
ambitious  and  as  meddlesome,  as  ever.  Notwithstanding 
that  he  was  lieutenant-general  of  the  kingdom,  and,  con- 
*  Monks  of  the  order  of  the  Younger  Brothers  of  St.  Francis,  who 
wore  gowns  of  coarse,  gray  cloth,  with  a  small  cowl,  a  cape,  and  a 
cloke  of  the  same  stuff,  girt  with  a  girdle  of  cord  knotted  in  three 
knots.  On  their  feet  they  wore  only  sandals.  They  were  sometimes 
also  called  Scotistes,  because  they  followed  the  doctrine  of  the  famous 
Scot.  The  Cordeliers  were  admitted  as  fellows  of  the  University,  and 
even  as  doctors.  Their  name  originated  as  follows: — These  monks 
having  repulsed  the  infidels  during  the  war  waged  against  them  by 
St.  Louis,  the  king  inquired  by  what  designation  they  were  distin- 
guished, and  was  answered  that  they  were  people  of  the  cordes  lids 
(knotted  cords) ;  and  since  that  time  the  name  of  Cordeliers  remained 
to  them.  The  order  was  suppressed  in  1798. 
t  Memoires  de  Madame  de  Motteville. 


THE    COURT    OF     FRANCE.  211 

sequently,  possessed  considerable  authority,  he  was  con- 
stitutionally too  weak  and  cowardly  to  place  any  reliance 
on  his  own  strength ;  and  even  while  he  ventured  to 
remain  thus  almost  isolated  in  Paris,  and  retained  Made- 
moiselle near  him,  he  caused  Madame  to  leave  the  city 
with  his  two  younger  daughters,  Mesdemoiselles  d'Orleans 
and  d'Alencon,  who  were  both  of  tender  age.  The  Prin- 
cess de  Conde  also  withdrew  her  grandson,  the  young 
Duke  d'Enghien ;  and  Mademoiselle,  in  her  Memoirs, 
expresses  her  embarrassment  on  finding  that  she  was  the 
only  junior  member  of  the  royal  family  who  had  not  re- 
ceived an  order  to  follow  the  court.  "As  no  one  should 
hesitate,"  she  proceeds  to  say,  "  in  doing  what  they  feel  to 
be  their  duty,  even  although  their  inclination  may  not  urge 
them  to  it,  I  proceeded  to  Ruel,  where  I  arrived  as  the 
queen  was  about  to  leave  for  St.  Germain.  She  asked  me 
where  I  came  from,  and  I  told  her  from  Paris ;  for  that, 
when  the  report  of  her  departure  reached  me,  I  had  has- 
tened to  have  the  honor  of  bearing  her  company;  as  it  had 
appeared  to  me  that,  although  she  had  not  done  me  the 
favor  to  command  my  attendance,  I  ought  not  to  fail  in 
proving  to  her  that  I  was  aware  of  my  duty,  which  I 
trusted  she  would  be  good  enough  to  appreciate.  She  an- 
swered, with  a  smile,  that  she  was  not  displeased  at  what 
I  had  done;  and  it  was  a  great  thing  for  me,  after  the 
manner  in  which  I  had  been  treated,  even  to  see  that  I 
was  borne  with.  I  told  Monsieur  and  the  Abbe  de  la 
Riviere  how  greatly  I  was  annoyed  that  even  the  little 
children  should  have  been  sent  for,  while  I  was  forgotten. 
Their  reply  was  embarrassed  enough."* 

At  this  period  the  Prince  de  Conde,  who,  at  the  capture 
of  Furnes,  had  been  wounded  in  the  hip,  was  recalled  to 
Paris  by  the  regent,  who,  apprehending  mischief  from  the 
intriguing  character  of  the  Duke  d'Orleans,  was  anxious  to 
secure  the  support  of  the  conqueror  against  his  machinations; 
*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


212  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

while,  as  a  counterpoise  to  the  triumphs  of  the  popular 
party  during  the  day  of  the  barricades,  she  again  exiled 
the  old  Marquis  de  Chateauneuf,  and  caused  Chavigny  to 
be  arrested  ;  the  former  upon  the  pretext  that  he  had  taken 
part  with  the  rioters,  and  the  latter  under  pretence  that,  in 
conjunction  with  several  of  the  deputies,  he  had  fomented 
them. 

The  parliament  saw  the  return  of  the  Prince  de  Conde 
with  distrust ;  nor  did  the  Duke  d'Orleans  witness  it  with 
more  satisfaction ;  the  prince  being  his  rival,  not  only  in 
politics,  but  also  in  the  good  graces  of  Mademoiselle  de 
Vegean  to  whom  Monsieur  was  paying  his  court,  and  who 
was  much  attached  to  him.  M.  de  Conde  found  the  capital 
in  commotion  on  the  subject  of  the  arrests,  and  the  parlia- 
ment assembled  for  the  purpose  of  releasing  De  Chavigny ; 
while  only  two  days  after  his  arrival,  during  his  absence  at 
Ruel,  where  he  had  gone  to  pay  his  respects  to  the  queen, 
a  very  stormy  meeting  took  place,  which  terminated  in  the 
declaration  of  Blancmesnil,  that  all  the  discontent  existing 
throughout  the  kingdom  was  attributable  to  the  influence 
of  an  alien,  and  might  at  once  be  overcome  by  applying  to 
the  individual  in  question  the  decree  which  had  been  pro- 
mulgated in  1617,  subsequently  to  the  execution  of  the 
Marshal  d'Ancre ;  by  which  it  was  forbidden  to  every 
foreigner  to  hold  office,  dignity,  sinecure,  honor,  or  govern- 
ment in  France.  This  was  the  most  direct  blow  which  had 
yet  been  struck  against  Mazarin,  and  its  echo  soon  reached 
Ruel,  whence  a  short  time  subsequently  the  regent  promul- 
gated a  declaration  signed  by  herself,  the  princes,  the  cardi- 
nal, and  the  chancellor,  to  the  effect  that — "  No  officer  could 
be  dismissed  even  from  the  discharge  of  his  duty  by  a  mere 
written  order ;  that  every  officer  arrested  must  be  given  up 
twenty -four  hours  to  his  proper  judges ;  and  that  even  so  it 
should  be  for  all  the  king's  subjects,  unless  from  failure  of 
proof,  in  which  case  the  detention  could  not  exceed  six 
months."     Moreover,  De  Chavigny,  who  had  already  been 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  213 

transferred  to  Havre,  was  set  at  liberty,  but  with  an  order 
to  retire  to  his  estates. 

This  new  triumph  assured  the  position  of  the  parliament, 
and  tended  to  convince  Mazarin  that  he  had  narrowly  es- 
caped the  effects  of  the  decree  issued  in  the  year  1617  ;  while 
it  is  almost  equally  certain  that  he  owed  his  impunity  prin- 
cipally to  the  fact  of  his  private  marriage  with  the  queen- 
regent;  a  circumstance  doubted  by  some  historians,  but 
affirmed  by  the  Princess  Palatine,  the  second  wife  of  Mon- 
sieur, brother  of  Louis  XIV.*  Moreover,  all  the  circum- 
stances of  the  marriage  are  now  known ;  and  the  secret 
way  by  which  the  cardinal  was  accustomed  to  reach  the 
chamber  still  exists  in  the  royal  palace.  The  assertion  of 
the  Princess  Palatine  is  also  borne  out  by  other  chroniclers, 
who  assert  that  when,  in  her  turn,  Anne  of  Austria  visited 
Mazarin  in  his  own  apartments,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  ex- 
claiming impatiently,  "  What  does  this  woman  want  with 
me  again  1" 

Madame  de  Beauvais,  first  femme-de-chambre  of  the 
queen-regent,  was  the  confidant  of  the  marriage,  a  fact  which 
compelled  her  royal  mistress  to  consult  her  wishes  upon  all 
occasions,  and  excited  the  astonishment  of  the  courtiers,  who 
could  discover  no  reason  for  such  an  excess  of  favor.  The 
court-newsman  of  his  day,  the  Marquis  de  Dangeau.t  re- 

*  "  The  Queen-Mother,  widow  of  Louis  XIII.,  not  satisfied  with  loving 
Mazarin,  had  finished  by  marrying  him.  He  was  not  a  priest,  and  con- 
sequently had  not  taken  the  orders  which  prevented  his  contracting 
marriage.  He  became  terribly  tired  of  the  good  queen,  and  treated  her 
harshly;  but  it  was  the  custom  of  the  time  to  contract  clandestine  mar- 
riages."— Fragments  of  Original  Letters,  written  by  Charlotte-Elizabeth 
de  Baviere,  widow  of  Monsieur,  only  brother  of  Louis  XIV.,  to  H.  R. 
H.  Monseigneur  Antoine-Ulric  de  Baviere. 

t  The  Marquisde  Dangeau  left  behind  him  fifty-eight  volumes  of  his 
Memoirs.  "  Every  one  has  heard  of  these  Memoirs.  They  are  a  MS. 
Journal  of  the  Court  from  1686  to  1720.  I  have  read  them  all.  If  he 
did  not  write  them  from  day  to  day,  it  can  not  be  doubted  that  he  must 
have  revised  them  carefully ;  and  it  may  be  said  that,  if  they  be  not  a 


214  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

marks  on  the  subject  of  Madame  de  Beauvais  :  "  She  was 
a  woman  with  whom  the  greatest  men  had  been  in  com- 
munication; and  who,  old,  hideous,  and  blind  of  an  eye  as 
6he  had  become,  still  continued  to  appear  from  time  to  time 
at  court  in  full  dress  like  a  nobleman's  wife,  and  to  be  treated 
with  distinction  till  she  died."* 

The  first  trial  of  strength  between  the  Duke  d'Orleans 
and  the  Prince  de  Conde,  was  on  the  subject  of  a  cardinal's 
hat  which  had  become  vacant,  and  which  Monsieur  had  so- 
licited for  the  Abbe  de  la  Riviere,  his  favorite,  while  Maza- 
rin  asked  it  for  the  Prince  de  Conti.  The  duke  resented 
this  substitution  loudly,  sulked,  and  even  threatened  ;  but 
the  cardinal  had  carefully  measured  the  strength  of  the  two 
princes  before  he  determined  upon  which  he  might  best 
rely  for  support,  and  disregarded  an  anger  which  he  knew 
to  be  as  empty  as  it  was  loud.  M.  de  Conde  next  increas- 
ed his  influence  by  advising  the  immediate  return  of  the 
young  king  to  Paris,  a  step  which  gave  general  satisfaction ; 
and  was  immediately  succeeded  by  the  peace  with  Germany, 
on  which  occasion  the  Gazette  de  France  announced,  "  That 
the  French  might  henceforward  fearlessly  water  their  horses 
in  the  Rhine." 

Meanwhile  the  young  king  was  beginning  to  give  evidence 
of  the  development  of  an  intellect  which,  if  the  chronicles 
of  the  age  may  be  believed,  required  only  proper  assistance 
to  be  worthy  of  his  rank.  When  the  victory  of  Sens  was 
announced  to  him,  he  is  reported  to  have  said :  "  Ah,  ah, 
there  is  something  which  will  not  make  the  parliament 
laugh  ;"  while,  child  as  he  was,  he  deeply  felt  the  contempt 
into  which  his  authority  had  fallen.     One  day,  when  the 

true  history  of  the  court  of  France  during  thirty-five  years,  they  offer  at 
least  good  materials  to  compose  it." — D' 'Argensan. 

*  It  was  at  this  period  that  there  appeared  a  shoal  of  lampoons  writ- 
ten by  each  faction  against  its  adversaries ;  among  others  the  celebrated 
Fronde  pamphlets  of  "  The  Real  Truth  Hidden,"  "  What  have  you  seen 
at  Court?"  and  "The  Old  Woman  in  Love." 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  215 

courtiers  were  discussing  in  his  presence  the  absolute  power 
of  the  Turkish  sultans,  and  were  giving  examples  of  its  ex- 
tent, he  exclaimed,  "  That  is  as  it  should  be  :  that  is  really 
reigning." 

"  Yes,  sire  ;"  replied  the  Marshal  d'Estrees  *  who  over- 
heard the  remark  ;  "  but  two  or  three  of  those  very  emper- 
ors have  been  strangled  in  my  time." 

The  Marshal  de  Villeroy,  who  had  lost  neither  the  obser- 
vation nor  the  rejoinder,  instantly  made  his  way  through 
the  throng,  and  addressing  D'Estrees  said  earnestly, 
"  Thank  you,  sir ;  you  have  just  spoken  judiciously  to  the 
king,  and  not  as  his  courtiers  are  too  apt  to  do." 

Nevertheless,  either  from  a  feeling  of  intuitive  good  breed- 
ing, or  because  he  already  understood  the  value  of  the 
Prince  de  Conde  on  one  occasion  when  the  latter  entered 
the  apartment  where  he  was  pursuing  his  studies,  Louis 
XIV.  rose,  and  began  to  converse  with  his  visitor  bare- 
headed. This  excess  of  politeness,  which  was  contrary  to 
all  etiquet,  wounded  Laporte,  who  entreated  that  either 
the  preceptor,  or  the  sub-preceptor,  would  desire  the  king 
to  put  on  his  hat,  but  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  would 
consent  to  do  so  ;  upon  which  Laporte  himself  took  the 
beaver  of  the  young  sovereign  from  the  chair  where  he  had 
left  it,  and  presented  it  with  a  grave  salutation  : — "  Laporte 
is  right,  sire  ;"  said  the  prince,  as  he  remarked  the  action ; 
"  Your  Majesty  should  be  covered  when  you  converse  with 
us  ;  you  do  us  sufficient  honor  by  a  bow." 

*  Francis  Annibal  d'Estrees,  Duke,  Peer,  and  Marshal  of  France,  was 
born  in  1563,  and,  having  originally  embraced  the  ecclesiastical  profes- 
sion, was  promoted  by  Henry  IV.  to  the  bishopric  of  Laon,  which  he 
left  to  follow  the  career  of  arms.  He  distinguished  himself  on  several 
occasions,  relieved  the  Duke  of  Mantua  in  1626,  took  Treves,  and  won 
great  reputation  by  his  courage  and  ability.  Appointed  Ambassador- 
Extraordinary  to  Rome  in  1636,  he  upheld  effectively  the  interests  of 
the  Crown ;  but  his  want  of  courtesy  forfeited  his  favor  with  Urban 
VIII.  Recalled  to  France,  he  refused  to  explain  his  conduct;  and  died 
in  1670.     He  wrote  the  Memoirs  of  the  Regency  of  Marie  de  Mcdicis. 


216  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

At  this  period  Prince  de  Conde  appeared  much  attached 
to  the  king.  His  first  question  on  his  return  from  the  army, 
had  been  to  ask  Laporte  if  the  king  would  be  an  honest 
man,  and  if  he  possessed  intellect;  and  on  receiving  an  af- 
firmative answer,  he  had  exclaimed,  "  All  the  better  !  You 
delight  me ;  for  there  could  be  no  honor  in  obeying  a  bad 
prince,  and  no  pleasure  in  yielding  to  a  fool."  This  was 
also  the  opinion  of  the  cardinal  Mazarin ;  who,  on  one  oc- 
casion, when  the  Marshal  de  Grammont  was  flattering  him 
with  the  hope  of  long-enduring  power,  replied  energetically, 
"  Ah,  sir,  you  do  not  know  His  Majesty.  There  is  stuff 
enough  in  him  to  make  four  kings  and  an  honest  man." 

It  was  this  same  Marshal  de  Grammont,  who,  having 
sided  with  the  Frondeurs,  afterwards  said  to  Louis  XIV., 
"  At  the  period  when  we  served  Your  Majesty  against  Ma- 
zarin ;"  a  phrase  which  greatly  amused  the  king. 

During  this  time  the  festival  of  St.  Martin  had  arrived  ; 
and  the  parliament  had  resumed  its  deliberative  sittings, 
showing  itself  more  bitter  than  ever  toward  the  court  party. 
Pamphlets  against  the  cardinal  were  of  constant  recurrence ; 
and  every  day  some  new  Mazarinade  made  its  appearance. 
At  first  the  minister  had  laughed  as  heartily  as  any  one  at 
these  lampoons,  and  had  given  utterance  to  the  famous 
words  so  often  quoted — "  They  sing,  and  they  shall  pay  for 
it ;"  but  at  length  the  songs  gave  place  to  a  production 
which  caused  an  immense  sensation,  and  which  was  entitled, 
"  A  petition  from  the  Three  States  of  the  Government  of 
the  Isle  of  France  to  the  Parliament  of  Paris."  It  was  a 
furious  attack  upon  the  minister.  "  He  was,"  said  this  pe- 
tition, "  a  Sicilian,  a  subject  of  the  king  of  Spain,  and  of  low 
birth,  who  had  been  a  valet  at  Rome,  and  had  made  him- 
self serviceable  in  the  most  abominable  debaucheries  ;  hav- 
ing been  advanced  by  rascalities,  buffooneries,  and  in- 
trigues ; — a  man  who  had  beenreceived  in  France  as  a  spy ; 
and  had,  by  his  influence  over  the  queen,  governed  every- 
thing for  the  last  six  years,  to  the  great  scandal  of  the  royal 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  217 

household,  and  the  great  derision  of  foreign  nations ; — who 
had  dismissed,  banished,  and  imprisoned  princes,  officers 
of  the  crown,  members  of  the  parliament,  great  nobles,  and 
in  short,  the  most  faithful  servants  of  the  king ; — who  had 
surrounded  himself  with  traitors,  exactionists,  unbelievers, 
and  atheists ; — who  had  assumed  the  office  of  king's  gov- 
ernor in  order  to  rear  the  sovereign  according  to  his  own 
ideas ; — who  had  corrupted  the  little  truth  and  good  faith 
which  still  existed  at  court,  by  introducing  cards  and  games 
of  chance  ;  had  violated  and  overthrown  justice  ;  pillaged 
and  ravished  all  the  finances ;  and  consumed  in  advance 
three  years  of  the  state  revenues ; — who  had  encumbered 
the  prisons  with  twenty-three  thousand  persons,  five  thou- 
sand of  whom  had  died  in  a  single  year ;  and  although  he 
had  devoured  near  one  hundred  and  twenty  millions  annu- 
ally, had  not  paid  neither  the  army,  or  the  pensions,  or  the 
maintenance  of  the  strongholds;  but  had  shared  these  large 
sums  with  his  friends,  having  exported  out  of  the  country 
the  greatest  portion  of  his  unholy  gains  as  well  in  letters  of 
change,  and  in  specie,  as  in  precious  stones." 

At  any  other  time  this  libel,  although  correct  and  truthful 
upon  many  points,  would  have  been  of  little  consequence  ; 
but  at  that  precise  moment  it  corresponded  so  well  with  the 
feeling  of  the  people,  and  the  complaint  of  the  parliament, 
that  it  became  a  matter  of  importance.  Great  researches 
was  accordingly  made  to  discover  its  author,  but  without 
success ;  all  that  could  be  accomplished  was  the  identifica- 
tion of  the  printer,  who  was  condemned  to  perpetual  ban- 
ishment by  sentence  of  the  Chatelet*     It  was,  however,  im- 

*  A  name  given  to  the  advanced  fortress  which  defended  a  city.  The 
two  chatelets  of  Paris  formed  two  fortresses,  which,  from  the  opposite 
banks  of  the  Seine,  closed  the  approaches  of  the  citS.  The  head  of  tho 
Pont-au-Change,  on  the  right  of  the  river,  was  defended  by  the  great 
chatelet;  and  that  of  the  little  bridge  on  the  left,  by  the  little  chatelet. 
The  construction  of  these  forts  was  attributed  to  Julius  Csesar.  Tho 
last  was  demolished  in  1782,  and  the  fust  in  1802.     The  little  chatelet 

VOL.   I. K 


218  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

possible  that  this  state  of  things  could  endure  ;  and  it 
consequently  became  important  to  ascertain  which  really- 
ruled  the  nation,  the  sovereign  or  the  parliament;  and  if, 
as  Anne  of  Austria  herself  expressed  it,  her  son  was  merely 
a  king  of  cards. 

The  first  prudential  measure  adopted  by  the  court,  was 
to  make  overtures  for  a  reconciliation  with  the  Duke 
d'Orleans,  who  had  continued  to  resent  the  preference 
which  had  been  shown  by  the  minister  to  the  interests 
of  the  Piince  de  Conde  in  the  matter  of  the  cardinal's 
hat ;  and  this  was  soon  effected,  by  the  appointment  of 
the  Abbe  de  la  Riviere  to  the  secretary  of  stateship,  and 
a  seat  in  the  council,  accompanied  by  the  promise  of  the 
next  vacant  seat  in  the  conclave. 

De  la  Riviere,  whose  interests  wei'e  thus  deeply  involved 
in  this  reconciliation,  and  who  well  knew  how  little  re- 
liance could  be  placed  upon  the  tortuous  and  vacillating 
spirit  of  his  master,  whose  energy  of  purpose  always 
failed  at  the  moment  in  which  it  had  become  important, 
undertook  the  necessary  negotiations  himself;  and  the  affair 
was  amicably  arranged  during  the  Christmas  festivals. 

A  council  was  immediately  convened,  and  resolutions 
were  adopted  relatively  to  the  measures  to  be  pursued; 
when  the  Prince  de  Conde  being  at  that  moment  all- 
powerful,  it  was  necessarily  his  opinion  which  prevailed  ; 
but  it  unfortunately  proved  to  be  the  advice  of  a  soldier 
rather  than  that  of  a  statesman,  and  was  the  germ  of  all  the 
evil  which  succeeded.  He  recommended  that  the  king 
should  be  removed  to  St.  Germain,  and  that  means  should 
be  adopted  to  prevent  all  bread  reaching  Paris  from 
Gonesse,*  in  order  that  famine  might  be  introduced  into 

was  used  as  a  prison  for  the  provost-marshal ;  while  the  great  ch&telet 
was  the  common  judicial  court  of  the  city,  which  acted  in  the  name  of 
the  provost. 

*  The  chief  town  of  the  canton  of  the  Department  of  the  Seine  and 
Oise,  three  leagues  from  Paris,  and  seven  and  a  half  from  Pontoise. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  219 

the  city.  The  people,  in  such  a  strait,  he  said,  would 
naturally  blame  the  parliament  for  their  sufferings ;  and 
the  parliament,  in  their  turn,  would  be  too  happy  to  re- 
ceive the  pardon  of  the  court  upon  its  own  conditions. 

This  proposition  found  instant  favor  with  the  regent, 
to  whom  extreme  measures  were  always  welcome ;  while, 
whatever  might  be  the  actual  sentiments  of  the  cardinal, 
he  had  too  much  interest  in  conciliating  the  prince,  to 
offer  any  opposition  to  such  unwise  and  dangerous  counsel, 
and  it  was  accordingly  decided  that  the  measure  should 
be  adopted ;  but  as  it  was  simultaneously  felt  that  perfect 
secrecy  was  necessary  to  its  safe  accomplishment,  it  was 
agreed  that  the  Duke  d'Orleans  should  not  mention  the 
subject  either  to  Madame  or  to  Mademoiselle  ;  nor  the 
Prince  de  Conde  to  his  mother,  his  brother,  or  his  sister. 

The  moment  of  departure  was  then  arranged  for  the 
night  of  the  5th  of  January;  and  that  Monsieur  religiously 
respected  the  pledge  which  he  had  given  we  have  evi- 
dence in  the  Memoirs  of  Mademoiselle,  who  relates; — "I 
had  supped  that  evening  with  Madame,  where  one  of 
my  people  came  and  told  me,  as  a  great  secret,  that  the 
court  would  leave  the  capital  the  next  day.  I  could  not 
believe  this,  however,  on  account  of  the  state  of  Monsieur;* 
and  I  mentioned  the  news  to  him  as  a  joke.  His  silence 
upon  the  subject  led  me  to  suspect  the  truth  of  the  in- 
telligence, and  the  rather  as  he  wished  me  good  night  a 
moment  afterward,  without  having  made  me  any  reply. 
I  went  to  the  chamber  of  Madame,  who  thought  as  I  did, 
that  the  silence  of  Monsieur  implied  the  fact  of  the  depart- 
ure ;  and  I  returned  home  tolerably  late."  t 
This  borough,  situated  on  the  Croust,  contains  2200  inhabitants,  and 
celebrated  markets  for  wheat,  corn,  and  forage.  Gonesse  was  renown- 
ed, during  the  middle  ages,  for  the  excellent  quality  of  its  bread,  by 
which  Paris  was  almost  entirely  supplied  for  many  years.  Philip  Au- 
gustus was  born  in  Gonesse,  in  1166. 

*  The  Duke  d'Orleans  was  suffering  severely  from  gout. 

t  M ('moires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


220  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

Duvino-  the  days  which  intervened  between  the  reso- 
lution and  its  accomplishment,  all  the  disposable  troops, 
to  the  amount  of  about  eight  thousand  men,  were  con- 
centrated toward  Paris;  a  movement  which  gave  some 
uneasiness  to  the  citizens,  who  became  restless,  and  col- 
lected in  groups  about  the  streets,  like  persons  who  were 
awaiting  the  advent  of  some  important  event.  Nor  was 
the  court  more  tranquil  than  the  city.  Orders  and  counter 
orders  succeeded  each  other  continually ;  but,  as  we  have 
already  stated,  no  one  was  absolutely  in  the  confidence 
of  the  arrangement,  save  the  queen,  the  Duke  d'Orleans, 
the  Prince  de  Conde,  the  Cardinal,  and  the  Marshal  de 
Grammont. 

The   day   of  the  5th    of  January   passed  in  increased 
excitement;  and  in  the  evening,  according  to  custom,  the 
princes  and   ministers   paid   their  respects  to   the  regent, 
but  retired  early.     The  Marshal   de  Grammont  being  in 
the  yearly  habit  of  giving  a  grand  supper  on  the  eve  of 
the  festival   of  the    Kings,   every   one   proceeded   to   his 
hotel,  and  the  queen,  as  soon  as  she  found  herself  alone, 
passed  into  a  small  cabinet  where  the  king  and  the  Duke 
d'Anjou  were  engaged  in  their  sports,  under  the  charge 
of  Madame  de  la  Tremouille.     When  the  queen  entered, 
she  seated  herself  in  front  of  a  table,   upon  which   she 
leaned  to  watch  their  movements ;  and  an  instant  after- 
ward Madame  de  Motteville  appeared,  and  took  her  sta- 
tion  behind   her   royal   mistress,   who    addressed   her   as 
calmly  as  usual,  and  then  once  more  turned  all  her  atten- 
tion upon  her  children.     At  this  moment  Madame  de  la 
Tremouille,   who  was    seated    in    a    corner    out    of  sight, 
made  a  sign  to  Madame  de  Motteville  that  she  wished 
to  speak  to  her.     The  signal  was    obeyed,  and,   as   her 
friend  drew  to  her  side,  Madame  de  la  Tremouille  said, 
in  so  low  a  voice  that  the  regent  could  not  overhear  her : 
"  Do  you  know  there  is  a  report  that  the  queen  leaves 
Paris  to-night  ?"     The    reply  was   a  silent   shrug   of  in- 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  221 

credulity,  as  Madame  de  Motteville  pointed  to  Anne  of 
Austria,  who  was  quietly  contemplating  the  gambols  of 
her  sons ;  but  who  was  not,  however,  so  absorbed  by 
their  infantile  games  as  to  remain  unconscious  that  some 
whispered  remark  had  been  made  in  her  presence,  for  she 
immediately  turned  and  inquired  of  Madame  de  la  Tre- 
mouille  what  she  had  said.  As  neither  of  the  court-ladies 
put  any  faith  in  the  rumor,  they  felt  no  hesitation  in  re- 
peating it ;  upon  which  the  queeji  replied,  with  a  careless 
laugh,  "  The  people  in  this  country  are  really  mad,  and 
scarcely  know  what  to  imagine.  To-morrow  I  shall  pass 
the  day  at  Val-de-G-race." 

The  Duke  d'Anjou,  who  was  at  the  moment  going  to 
bed,  heard  the  words,  and  would  not  leave  the  room  until 
the  queen  had  consented  to  take  him  *vith  her.  She 
promised  this,  and  the  child  withdrew  in  delight. 

"  Now  that  D'Anjou  is  gone,  ladies,"  said  the  regent, 
"  we  will,  if  you  please,  in  order  to  amuse  the  king,  draw 
for  the  bean*  among  ourselves.  Call  Bregy,  and  tell  them 
to  bring  the  cake." 

She  was  obeyed;  the  cake  was  brought,  and  Madame 
de  Bregy  having  entered  the  room,  it  was  cut  into  six 
portions ;  one  for  the  king,  one  for  the  queen,  one  for 
Madame  de  la  Tremouille,  one  for  Madame  de  Motteville, 
one  for  Madame  de  Bregy,  and  one  for  the  Virgin. 

Each  ate  their  portion  without  finding  the  bean,  as  it 
chanced  to  be  in  the  reserved  slice ;  upon  which  the  king 
took  it,  and  gave  it  to  his  mother,  thus  making  her  queen 
of  the  evening;  while  she,  as  though  she  had  no  other 
occupation  for  her  mind  save  the  wish  to  amuse  those 
about  her,  sent  for  a  bottle  of  hypocras,  of  which  her  ladies 
first  partook,  afterward  compelling  her  to  do  the  same, 
in  order  that  they  might  have  the  opportunity  of  exclaim- 
ing, according  to  the  rules  of  the  game,  "  The  queen 
drinks!" 

*  An  amusement  similar  to  that  of  our  Twelfth-Night. 


222  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

The  conversation  then  turned  upon  a  dinner  to  be  given 
two  days  afterward  by  Villequier,  the  Captain  of  the 
Guard ;  and  the  queen  named  such  of  her  women  as  she 
would  allow  to  attend  it ;  adding,  that  the  violin-band  of 
the  Prince  de  Conde  should  be  sent  for  in  order  to  add 
to  their  amusement.  Ultimately  Laporte  was  summoned, 
to  whom  she  committed  the  young  king,  that  he  might  go 
to  rest  in  his  turn;  and  all  this  was  done  so  calmly  and 
so  naturally,  that  Madame  de  la  Tremouille  was  the  first 
to  laugh  at  the  report  which  she  had  been  so  eager  to 
promulgate. 

About  eleven  o'clock,  when  the  queen  had  retired  to 
her  chamber,  and  her  ladies  where  preparing  to  assist  her 
to  unrobe,  she  sent  for  Beringhen,*  the  first  equerry, 
who  immediately  presented  himself,  when  she  took  him 
aside,  and  conversed  with  him  some  time  in  a  low  voice. 
It  was  to  order  out  the  king's  carriages ;  but,  as  she  still 
feared  any  premature  suspicion,  she  said  aloud  as  he  left 
the  room,  that  she  had  been  giving  some  instructions  about 
certain  alms  which  she  wished  to  distribute  ;  and  her  self- 
possession  was  so  perfect,  that  her  ladies  proceeded  to  their 
several  duties  without  a  single  misgiving.  These  per- 
formed, they  were  dismissed ;  and  at  the  door  they  en- 
countered Comminges  and  Villequier,  who  were  as  uncon- 
scious as  themselves  of  the  intended  departure. 

The  ladies  of  the  household  had  no  sooner  left  the 
Palais-Royal,  than  the  gates  were  closed ;  and  the  queen 
summoning  Madame  de  Beauvais,  again  dressed  herself. 
Comminges  and  Villequier,  who  had  been  desired  to  re- 
main in  the  saloon,  were  next  introduced,  and  received  the 
necessary  orders.  After  them  entered  the  Marshal  de 
Villeroy,  who  then  also  learned  the  intentions  of  the  re- 
gent for  the  first  time ;   and  immediately  retired  to  make 

*  James  Louis,  Marquis  de  Beringhen,  Count  de  Chateauneuf,  and  du 
Plessis-Bertrand,  Knight  of  the  Order  of  the  King,  First  Euueriy,  and 
Governor  of  the  citadels  of  Marseilles. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  22'S 

his  personal  arrangements,  as  well  as  those  which  were 
necessary  to  the  comfort  of  the  young  king,  who  was  left 
to  sleep  in  peace  until  three  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

At  that  hour  both  the  princes  were  awakened,  and 
placed  in  a  carriage  which  was  in  waiting  at  the  gate  of 
the  royal  garden,  where  the  queen  immediately  afterward 
joined  them,  attended  by  Madame  de  Beauvais,  and  fol- 
lowed by  Guitaut,  Comminges,  and  Villequier,  who  had 
all  descended  by  the  back  stair-case  which  led  from  the 
queen's  apartments  to  the  garden.  The  carnages  then 
drove  off  without  encountering  any  obstacle,  and  did  not 
stop  until  they  reached  the  Cours,  which  was  the  general 
rendezvous ;  and  there  they  awaited  the  Duke  d'Orleans, 
the  Prince  de  Conde,  and  all  the  other  members  of  the 
royal  family.  Shortly  afterward  Monsieur  arrived  with 
Madame,  then  Mademoiselle,  whom  Comminges  had  been 
sent  to  summon,  and  the  princes  of  Conde  and  Conti, 
with  the  princess ;  and  finally,  the  Demoiselles  de  Man- 
cini,  who  had  been  sent  for  from  the  hotel  of  Madame  de 
Senecey,  where  they  were  residing.  The  tardy  appear- 
ance of  the  cardinal  completed  the  party.  He  had  been 
engaged  at  cards,  of  which  he  was  passionately  fond,  and 
having  had  a  run  of  luck,  he  was  with  difficulty  prevailed 
upon  to  abandon  the  game.* 

The  account  given  of  this  royal  flight  by  Mademoiselle 
is  at  once  so  characteristic  of  her  own  personage,  and  so 
graphic,  that  we  will  transcribe  it. 

"  While  M.  de  Comminges  was  speaking,  I  was  quite 
agitated  with  joy  to  see  that  they  were  about  to  commit 
an  error,  and  that  I  should  be  a  witness  of  the  troubles 
in  which  they  would  be  involved  in  consequence.  It  re- 
venged me,  in  some  degree  for  the  persecutions  that  I 
had  suffered.  I  did  not  then  foresee  that  I  should  find 
myself  in  a  powerful  faction,  where  I  might  do  my  duty 
and  revenge  myself  at  the  same  time ;  nevertheless,  in  this 
*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


22  1  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

Boil  of  vt'iigeance  one  is  apt.  to  gratify  one's  self  to  one's 
own  despite.  I  rose  with  all  possible  celerity,  and  drove 
away  in  the  carriage  of  Comminges.  Neither  my  own, 
nor  that  of  the  Countess  de  Fiesque,*  was  ready.  The 
moon  had  disappeared,  and  day  had  not  yet  dawned.  I 
desired  the  countess  to  bring  me  my  equipage  as  soon  as 
possible.  When  I  entered  the  carriage  of  the  queen,  I 
said,  '  I  will  be  placed  either  in  front,  or  at  the  back  of 
the  coach ;  I  am  not  fond  of  the  cold,  and  I  wish  to  be  at 
my  ease.'  This  was  in  order  to  make  the  princess  change 
her  seat,  as  she  was  in  the  habit  of  occupying  one  of  these 
places.  The  queen  replied,  '  The  king,  my  son,  and  I  are 
in  them,  with  the  princess-dowager.'  To  which  I  an- 
swered, '  Let  her  remain  then ;  young  people  ought  to 
give  up  the  good  places  to  the  old  ;'  and  I"  remained  near 
one  of  the  doors  with  the  Prince  de  Conti ;  while  at  the 
other  were  seated  the  princess,  her  daughter,  and  Madame 
de  Senecey.  The  queen  asked  me  if  I  had  not  been  very 
much  surprised  ?  I  said,  No  ;  for  that  Monsieur  had  fore- 
warned me  of  her  intention  ;  although,  in  fact,  he  had  done 
nothing  of  the  kind.  She  thought  to  detect  me  in  a  false- 
hood, for  she  asked,  '  How  then  came  you  to  go  to  bed  V 
I  answered,  that  I  was  very  glad  to  lay  in  a  stock  of 
sleep,  not  knowing  if  I  should  have  a  bed  to  Ke  in  the 
next  night.  I  never  saw  a  creature  so  gay  as  she  was ; 
if  she  had  gained  a  battle,  taken  Paris,  and  hung  all  those 
who  were  obnoxious  to  her,  she  could  not  have  been  more 
60 ;  and,  nevertheless,  she  was  very  far  from  having  done 
all  this."t 

Ere  long  the  Cours  became  thronged  with  about  twenty 
coaches,  containing  at  least  a  hundred  and  fifty  persons ; 
for  the  friends  of  those  who  were  about  to  depart,  informed 
of  the  circumstance  at  the  eleventh  hour,  would  not  remain 
in  Paxis,  where  they  apprehended  a  new  outbreak;  and, 

*  Governess  of  Mademoiselle. 

t  Memoiree  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


T  II  E     C  0  C  R  T      0  r     1'  It  A  N  C  L.  225 

meanwhile,  all  these  fag  >■  the  few  who  were  in 

the  secret,  were  overcome  with  fear,  and  looked  like  peo- 
ple who  were  escaping  from  a  beleaguered  city. 

The  queen  expressed  some  surprise  at  the  non-appear- 
ance of  Madame  de  Longueville;  but  as  she  had  no  suspi- 
cion of  the  real  motive  which  detained  her  in  Paris,  she 
declared  herself  satisfied  with  the  reason  assigned  by  the 
duchess,  and  communicated  by  the  princess,  her  mother-in- 
law,  and  which  was  based  upon  her  approaching  confine- 
ment ;  and  having  seen  her  household  assembled,  she  gave 
the  order  to  depart. 

We  will  again  have  recourse  to  Mademoiselle  for  a 
description  of  matters  at  .St.  Germain.  The  picture  is  ad- 
mirable. 

"  When  we  arrived  at  St.  Germain  we  went  straight  to 
the  chapel  to  hear  mass,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  day  was 
spent  in  questioning  those  who  arrived  as  to  what  they 
were  saying  and  doing  in  Paris.  Every  one  spoke  of  it  in 
his  own  way,  and  all  were  agreed  that  no  anger  had  been 
exhibited  at  the  departure  of  the  kinz ;  that  the  drums 
were  beating  all  over  the  city,  and  that  the  citizens  had 
taken  up  arms.  I  was  very  uneasy  about  my  equipage ;  I 
knew  that  the  Countess  de  Fiesque  was  so  timid  that  she 
would  not  leave  Paris  during  the  commotion,  nor  forward 
my  equipage,  which  was  most  necessary  to  me  ;  as  for 
herself,  I  could  have  done  very  well  without  her.  She 
sent  me  a  coach,  which  passed  through  the  rebels  without 
remark,  and  the  other3  could  have  come  with  equal  ease ; 
those  who  were  in  it  were  treated  with  great  civility, 
although  it  was  by  people  who  are  not  in  the  habit  of 
showing  it:  and  I  was  informed  of  the  circumstance.  She 
sent  me  in  this  coach  a  matress,  and  a  little  linen.  As  I 
saw  myself  in  so  sorry  a  condition,  I  went  to  seek  help  at 
the    Chateau-Xeuf',*  where  Monsieur  and  Madame  were 

*  There  were  two  palaces  at  St.  Germain-en-Laye,  where  several 
kings  had  resided.     That  which  still  exists,  and  which  was  huilt  several 


226  LOUIS      XIV.      AND 

lodged.  She  lent  me  two  of  her  women  ;  but  she  had  not 
her  clothes  any  more  than  myself;  and  nothing  could  be 
more  laughable  than  this  disorder.  I  slept  in  a  very 
handsome  room,  well  painted,  well  gilded,  and  large,  with 
very  little  fire  and  no  windows ;  which  is  not  agreeable  in 
the  month  of  January.  My  matresses  were  laid  upon  the 
floor,  and  my  sister,  who  had  no  bed,  slept  with  me.  I 
was  obliged  to  sing  to  get  her  to  sleep ;  and  her  slumber 
did  not  last  long,  so  that  she  disturbed  mine  ;  she  tossed 
about,  felt  me  near  her,  woke  up,  and  exclaimed  that  she 
saw  the  beast;  so  I  was  obliged  to  sing  again  to  put  her 
to  sleep,  and  in  that  way  I  passed  the  night.  Judge  if  I 
were  agreeably  situated  for  a  person  who  had  slept  but 
little  the  previous  night,  and  who  had  been  ill  all  the  winter 
with  sore  throats  and  a  violent  cold;  nevertheless,  this 
fatigue  cured  me.  Fortunately  for  me,  the  beds  of  Mon- 
sieur and  Madame  arrived ;  and  Monsieur  had  the  kindness 
to  give  me  his  room.  They  had  previously  occupied  one 
which  the  prince  had  lent  him.  As  I  was  in  the  apart- 
ment of  Monsieur,  where  no  one  knew  that  I  was  lodged, 
I  was  awoke  by  a  noise.  I  drew  back  my  curtain,  and 
was  much  astonished  to  find  my  chamber  quite  filled  by 
men  in  large  buffskin  collars,  who  appeared  surprised  to 
see  me,  and  who  knew  me  as  little  as  I  knew  them.  I  had 
no  change  of  linen,  and  my  day-chemise  was  washed  dur- 
ing the  night;  I  had  no  women  to  arrange  my  hair  and 
dress  me,  which  is  very  inconvenient ;  and  I  ate  with  Mon- 
sieur, who  keeps  a  very  bad  table.  Still  I  did  not  lose  my 
gayety,  and  Monsieur  was  in  admiration  at  my  making  no 
complaint;  and  it  is  true  that  I  am  a  creature  who  can 
make  the  best  of  every  thing,  and  am  greatly  above  trifles. 
I  remained  in  this  state  ten  days  with  Madame,  at  the  end 

centuries  ago,  and  enlarged  during  successive  reigns,  but  particularly  in 
that  of  Louis  XIV.;  and  another,  erected  by  Henry  IV.,  which  has 
been,  in  a  great  measure,  pulled  down.  The  town  is  girdled  by  a  for- 
est of  six  leagues  in  circumference,  entirely  surrounded  by  a  wall. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  227 

of  which  time  my  equipage  arrived,  and  I  was  very  glad 
to  have  all  my  comforts.  I  then  went  to  lodge  in  the  Cha- 
teau-Vieux,  where  the  queen  was  residing;  and  I  had  re- 
solved, if  my  equipage  did  not  reach  me,  to  send  to  Rouen 
to  have  some  clothes  and  a  bed  made ;  and  for  that  pur- 
pose to  request  some  money  from  the  treasurer  of  Monsieur, 
who  might  very  well  give  it  to  me,  as  they  were  enjoying 
my  property  :  and  if,  indeed,  they  had  refused  me  a  sup- 
ply, I  should  have  had  no  difficulty  in  finding  some  one 
who  would  have  lent  it."  * 

Notwithstanding,  however,  the  assertion  of  Mademoi- 
selle's informants,  the  news  of  the  king's  flight  had  no 
sooner  been  circulated  in  Paris  than  it  produced  a  terrible 
effect ;  and  from  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  streets  were 
loud  with  shouts  and  tumult.  Immediately  all  the  individ- 
uals who  were  in  any  way  attached  to  the  court  attempted 
to  escape  and  rejoin  the  royal  party  ;  while  at  the  same 
moment  the  people  were  closing  the  city  gates,  and  stretch- 
ing chains  in  every  direction,  to  intercept  their  flight.  The 
chancellor  made  good  his  retreat,  disguised  as  a  monk  of 
St.  Lazarus;  Madame  de  Brienne  as  a  Gray  sister;  Bri- 
enne  and  his  brother  as  students,  with  their  books  under 
their  arms ;  while  their  father,  who  attempted  to  force  a 
passage  with  his  relative,  the  Abbe  de  l'Escaladieu,  was 
compelled  to  fire  his  pistol  in  order  to  effect  his  purpose  ; 
and  the  abbe  was  wounded  with  a  halbert. 

*   Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Tranquillity  of  the  Coadjutor — Idle  Rumors — Mob-Enthusiasm — Decla- 
ration of  Louis  XIV.  to  the  corporate  Bodies — Interdict  upon  the 
Parliament — Attempt  to  create  a  Famine  in  Paris — Parliamentary 
Decree  against  Mazarin — Contempt  of  the  Court — Madame  de  Longue- 
ville  at  the  Town-Hall — Disaffection  of  the  Princes — Intrigues  of 
Madame  de  Longueville — Perplexity  of  the  Coadjutor — Arrival  of 
the  Prince  de  Conti  and  the  Duke  de  Longueville  at  Paris — The 
Prince  de  Conti  and  the  Parliament — M.  d'Elbceuf  and  his  three  Sons 
— The  Princes  offer  their  Services  to  the  Parliament — Madame  de 
Longueville  and  the  Populace — Siege  of  the  Bastille — A  dangerous 
Witticism — The  Citizen-Court — Measures  of  the  Prince  de  Conde — 
Alarm  at  St.  Germain — Intended  Flight  of  Mazarin — Indignation  of 
Conde — The  Hunchback — Fronde-Pasquinades — Royal  Retorts — Po- 
litical Scandal — The  Duke  de  Beaufort  in  the  Capital — "  The  King  of 
the  Markets" — Leaders  of  the  Fronde — Tancred  de  Rohan. 

Meanwhile  the  cocdjutor  remained  perfectly  tranquil, 
and  found  food  for  amusement  in  the  terror  which  had  taken 
possession  of  the  citizens.  Blacmesnil  entered  his  cham- 
ber as  pale  as  a  ghost,  to  tell  him  that  the  king  was  march- 
ing upon  the  parliament-house  wTith  eight  thousand  horse- 


LOUIS     XIV.      AND     THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.     229 

men  ;  to  which  M.  de  Retz  replied  that  His  Majesty  had 
left  the  city  accompanied  by  only  two  hundred.  To  the 
affrighted  president  succeeded  other  visitors  equally  in  con- 
sternation ;  and  this  audience  of  alarm  continued  through- 
out the  greater  portion  of  the  day,  without  in  the  least  de- 
gree affecting  the  vigoi-ous  nerves  of  the  coadjutor,  who  at 
every  instant  received  reports  from  the  officers  in  his  inter- 
est, asserting  that  the  first  movement  of  the  populace  had 
been  one  of  fury,  which  requires  time  to  degenerate  into 
fear  ;  and  he  calculated  that  before  night  he  should  be  able 
to  allay  all  apprehensions  in  the  minds  of  the  citizens ;  for, 
although  the  prince,  who  distrusted  his  brother  (M.  de 
Conti),  had  taken  him  from  his  bed  and  carried  him  off  to 
St.  Germain,  the  coadjutor  never  doubted  that,  as  Madame 
de  Longueville  remained  in  Paris,  he  would  soon  reappear; 
and  the  rather,  as  he  had  himself  received  a  letter  from 
M.  de  Longueville  on  the  previous  evening,  dated  from 
Rouen,  in  which  he  gave  an  assurance  that  he  should  on 
the  following  night  reach  Paris. 

The  coadjutor  had,  nevertheless,  lost  ground.  Broussel 
and  Blancmesnil  had  been  set  at  liberty,  and  this  was  all 
that  the  people  required.  He  had  been  summoned  to 
court,  where  the  queen  had  received  him  almost  with  affec- 
tion, and  Mazarin  had  kissed  him  upon  both  cheeks ;  but 
he  was  not  duped  by  the  hollowness  of  a  welcome  so  over- 
acted ;  and  he  had,  consequently,  remained  quietly  in  the 
city,  preserving  his  popularity,  and  awaiting  patiently  the 
progress  of  events.  On  the  very  day  upon  which  the  king 
left  Paris,  M.  de  Retz  was  awoke  at  five  o'clock  in  the  \ 
morning  by  the  house-steward  of  the  regent,  who  brought 
him  an  autograph  letter  from  Anne  of  Austria,  begging  him 
to  follow  her  to  St.  Germain ;  to  which  he  replied  that  he 
would  not  fail  to  obey  her  orders.  That  he  could  have 
done  so,  had  he  seen  fit,  admits  of  no  doubt,  as  persons 
were  continually  leaving  the  city  in  disguise ;  but  such  was 
not  his  purpose,  and  he  accordingly  ordered  his  carriage 


230  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

openly,  took  leave  of  his  friends  at  his  own  door,  and  shout- 
ed to  his  coachmen,  "  To  St.  Germain" — being  well  aware 
that  he  should  not  be  permitted  to  proceed.  His  calcula- 
tion was  a  correct  one ;  for,  at  the  end  of  the  rue  Neuve 
Notre-Dame,  a  timber-merchant,  named  Du  Buisson,  who 
was  very  popular  on  the  quays,  raised  the  people,  belabor- 
ed the  postillion,  beat  the  coachman,  and  declared  that  the 
coadjutor  should  go  no  farther.  The  carnage  was  lifted 
off  its  wheels,  and  the  women  of  the  New  Market  having 
raised  a  sort  of  litter  upon  them,  they  placed  the  coadjutor 
on  this  impromptu  car,  and,  to  his  great  joy,  conducted  him 
home  in  triumph. 

On  his  arrival  beneath  his  own  roof,  M.  de  Retz  imme- 
diately wrote  to  both  the  queen  and  the  cardinal  to  express 
his  regret  at  the  popular  interference,  and  to  explain  the 
impossibility  of  continuing  his  journey.  Neither  of  them 
were,  however,  deceived  by  this  subterfuge,  and  the  turbu- 
lent prelate  became  more  obnoxious  at  court  than  ever. 

Meanwhile  all  was  confusion  and  uncertainty ;  when  it 
was  suddenly  announced  that  the  municipal  magistrates,  as 
well  as  the  magistrates  of  police  and  commerce,  had  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  the  king,  copies  of  which  were  soon 
circulated.  In  this  letter,  Louis  XIV.  declared  that  he 
had  been  compelled  to  leave  the  capital  in  consequence  of 
the  pernicious  designs  of  the  parliament,  who  were  in  com- 
munication with  the  enemies  of  the  state ;  and  that,  by  the 
advice  of  his  honorable  lady  and  mother,  he  had  withdrawn 
from  Paris  to  prevent  the  seizure  of  his  person ;  recom- 
mended to  them  the  safety  and  well-being  of  the  city,  and 
urged  them  to  continue  in  their  duty  of  good  and  faithful 
subjects,  as  they  had  hitherto  done ;  while  he,  at  the  same 
time,  expressed  his  confidence  in  their  fidelity  and  affection. 

On  the  7th  of  the  month,  De  Lisle,  a  captain  of  the 
guards,  delivered,  on  the  king's  authority,  an  interdict 
against  the  continued  sittings  of  the  sovereign  courts,  and 
an  order  for  the  parliament  to  retire  to  Montargis.     The 


THE     COURT     OF      FRANCE.  231 

parliament,  however,  refused  to  recognize  the  order,  assert- 
ing that  it  did  not  emanate  from  the  monarch  himself,  but 
from  those  by  whom  he  was  surrounded,  and  who  were 
endangering  his  safety  by  their  evil  counsels ;  and  this  re- 
ply had  no  sooner  reached  St.  Germain,  than  the  queen 
sent  to  forbid  the  villages  round  Paris  from  supplying  either 
bread,  wine,  or  cattle ;  from  which  moment  the  design  of 
the  court  to  cause  a  famine  in  the  capital  became  evident. 

In  this  extremity  the  parliament  decided  that  a  deputa- 
tion should  bear  their  remonstrances  to  the  regent ;  and 
accordingly  it  reached  St.  Germain,  where  it  was  refused 
admission ;  when,  having  reported  its  failure  to  the  body, 
in  reply  to  the  king's  letter,  a  decree  was  issued,  stating : 

"  That,  as  Cardinal  Mazarin  was  notoriously  the  author 
of  all  the  disorders  of  the  state,  and  of  the  present  troubles, 
the  parliament  has  declared,  and  does  declare  him,  the  dis- 
turber of  public  peace,  the  enemy  of  the  king  and  the  state, 
and  enjoins  him  to  retire  from  the  court  in  the  course  of 
this  day,  and  in  eight  more  from  the  kingdom;  and,  the 
said  time  expired,  calls  upon  all  the  subjects  of  the  king  to 
hunt  him  down  (courre  sus).  Forbids  every  one  to  receive 
him.  Orders,  moreover,  that  a  sufficient  number  of  men- 
at-arms  shall  be  levied  in  this  city  to  this  end ;  commissions 
delivered  for  the  safety  of  the  city,  as  well  within  as  with- 
out; both  to  escort  those  who  bring  in  provisions,  and  to 
arrange  that  they  may  be  brought  and  earned  in  all  safety 
and  freedom ;  and  the  present  decree  shall  be  read,  pub- 
lished, and  posted  up  in  every  place  to  which  it  belongs ; 
and  in  order  that  none  shall  affect  ignorance,  the  municipal, 
police,  and  commercial  ministers  are  enjoined  to  lend  a 
helping  hand  to  its  execution. 

(Signed)  "  Guiet." 

Both  this  obscure  name,  and  the  letter  to  which  it  was 
affixed,  greatly  amused  the  court ;  but  their  gayety  was 
shortly  tempered  by  the  intelligence  that  the  Duke  d'El- 


232  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

boeuf  *  and  the  Prince  de  Conti  had  both  quitted  St.  Ger- 
main for  Paris  ;  that  the  Duke  de  Bouillon  had  declared 
for  the  parliament ;  and  that  Madame  de  Longueville 
had  taken  up  her  residence  in  the  Town-Hall,  having 
promised  to  the  popular  cause  the  support  of  the  Duke  de 
Longueville  her  husband,  and  the  Prince  de  Marsillact 
her  lover.  A  civil  war  was  consequently  declared,  not 
only  between  the  king  and  his  people,  but  also  between 
the  princes  of  the  blood.| 

The  Duke  d'Elbceuf  was  a  man  of  confined  intellect, 
and  best  known  as  the  elder  brother  of  the  Count  d'Har- 
court.  He  was  disaffected,  because  it  was  the  fashion  of 
the  house  of  Lorraine  to  be  so,  and  that,  moreover,  the 
princes  of  this  line  held  a  bad  position  at  court,  not  re- 
ceiving the  same  honors  as  those  of  Conde.  M.  de 
Bouillon  was  of  better  reputation,  both  in  war  and  poli- 
tics ;  but  it  may  be  remembered  that  during  the  lifetime 
of  Louis  XIII.  he  had  been  compromised  in  the  affair 
of  Cinq-Mars ;  and,  as  he  was  sovereign  prince  of  Sedan, 
had   made   his   peace    with    the    court    by   giving   up    his 

*  Charles,  grandson  of  Rene  de  Lorraine,  Marquis  d'Elbceuf,  the  sev- 
enth son  of  Claude,  Duke  de  Guise.  He  married  Catherine-Henrietta, 
the  legitimized  daughter  of  Henry  IV.  and  Gabrielle  d'Estrees.  He 
died  in  1657. 

t  Francis,  sixth  Duke  de  la  Rochefoucauld,  Prince  de  Marsillac,  Knight 
of  the  Orders  of  the  King,  and  Governor  of  Poitou,  was  one  of  the  wits 
of  the  seventeenth  century.  Born  in  1613,  he  was  still  young  when  he 
involved  himself  in  the  intrigues  which  distinguished  the  last  years  of 
Richelieu.  He  played  a  prominent  part  in  the  wars  of  the  Fronde, 
through  his  passion  for  Madame  de  Longueville.  Restored  to  royal  fa- 
vor at  the  close  of  the  straggle,  he  occupied  himself  in  writing  the  two 
works  by  which  he  has  been  immortalized.  His  Memoirs,  an  interest- 
ing and  valuable  production ;  and  his  Maxims,  a  collection  of  moral  re- 
flections, tending  to  prove  that  the  motive  of  all  our  actions  is  self-love. 
The  Duke  de  la  Rochefoucauld  died  in  1680.  He  assisted,  it  is  said, 
in  writing  the  romance  of  "  The  Princess  of  Cleves,"  a  work  by  Ma- 
dame de  Lafayette,  who  was  his  intimate  friend  toward  the  close  of  his 
hfe.  \  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  233 

city.  When  the  king  and  the  cardinal  were  both  dead,  he 
expected  to  hold  it  anew,  but  it  was  not  restored  to  him ; 
and  although  he  had  been  promised  a  pecuniary  indem- 
nification, this  had  never  been  paid,  and  he  began  to  per- 
ceive that  his  pretensions  were  laughed  at.  These  were 
the  reasons  of  M.  de  Bouillon's  disaffection.  The  Prince 
de  Conti  was  disaffected  because  younger  brothers  were 
always  so  at  that  period ;  then,  because  he  was  hump- 
backed ;  and  finally,  because  he  was  required  to  go  into 
the  church ;  and  that  although  they  might  obtain  for  him 
the  cardinal's  hat,  which  had  already  produced  such  a  dis- 
cussion between  the  Duke  d'Orleans  and  his  brother,  he 
preferred  a  gray  beaver  with  a  white  feather,  and  the  vest 
of  black  velvet  lined  with  minever,  which  was  the  costume 
of  the  time,  to  the  red  cap  and  the  crimson  robes. 

Madame  de  Longueville  was  disaffected,  because  her 
brother,  the  Prince  de  Conde,  to  whom  she  was  tenderly 
attached,  had  been  paying  his  court  to  Mademoiselle  de 
Vegean,  and  that  she  could  not  endure  a  rival  in  his 
affections ;  while  she  had  become  so  embittered  against 
him  in  consequence,  that  she  had  embraced  the  opposite 
party  to  revenge  herself;  M.  de  Longueville  was  dis- 
affected, only  because  his  wife  was  so. 

The  coadjutor  was  a  great  friend  of  the  duke,  but  as 
he  was  not,  according  to  M.  de  Retz  himself,  the  man  of 
the  court  who  was  on  the  best  terms  with  his  wife,  he 
had  not  seen  the  duchess  for  some  time.  He  now  felt, 
however,  that  circumstances  might  occur  in  which  her 
influence  would  be  important  to  him,  and  he  accordingly 
paid  her  a  visit.  He  found  her  extremely  enraged,  both 
against  the  court  and  the  Prince  de  Conde  ;  and  there- 
upon inquired  if  she  had  any  power  over  M.  de  Conti,  to 
which  she  replied  that  he  was  entirely  in  her  hands,  and 
that  she  could  make  him  do  whatever  she  pleased.  This 
was  all  the  coadjutor  wished  for  at  the  moment,  as  he 
only  desired  to  have  some  one  to  oppose  to  the  prince. 


234  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

The  feebleness  of  the  individual  did  not  disturb  him ; 
what  he  sought  was  merely  a  chief  for  the  faction  who 
would  be  governed  by  himself;  and  he  accordingly  re- 
quested the  duchess  to  hold  herself  in  readiness  for  what- 
ever might  occur,  to  recall  her  husband  to  Paris,  and  not 
to  leave  the  capital  on  any  pretext  whatever ;  but  she 
was,  nevertheless,  ill  at  ease,  the  prince  having  carried 
off  M.  de  Conti  almost  by  force,  the  Prince  de  Marsillac 
having  left  Paris  to  endeavor  to  bring  him  back,  and  M.  de 
Longueville  not  having  arrived  from  Normandy.  She  was, 
consequently,  alone,  and  dared  not  venture  into  the  streets, 
which  were  filled  with  uproar  and  confusion.  The  citi- 
zens had,  at  their  own  instigation,  taken  possession  of  the 
Porte  St.  Honore,  while  the  coadjutor  had  placed  a  guard 
at  that  of  the  Conference ;  and  the  parliament  were  again 
assembling.  It  was  therefore  finally  determined  between 
them  that,  in  addition  to  the  Prince  de  Marsillac,  they 
should  send  M.  de  Saint-Ibal,  a  confidential  friend  of  the 
coadjutor,  to  St.  Germain,  that  he  might  endeavor  to  see 
the  Prince  de  Conti,  and  press  his  return ;  and  Saint-Ibal 
accordingly  left  the  city  in  disguise. 

Three  days  were  consumed  in  all  these  arrangements. 
Neither  M.  de  Marsillac  nor  Saint-Ibal  returned ;  but  it 
was  ascertained  that  the  Duke  de  Longueville,  learning 
that  the  court  was  at  St.  Germain,  had  turned  his  horse's 
head  in  that  direction,  and  had  gone  to  join  the  queen  ; 
with  what  design  no  one  could  determine.  The  coadjutor 
was  greatly  embarrassed.  He  had  answered  to  the  Duke 
de  Bouillon  for  the  cooperation  of  the  Prince  de  Conti  and 
the  Duke  de  Longueville ;  and  while  they  had  no  news 
of  the  former,  those  which  they  had  received  of  the  latter 
were  any  thing  but  encouraging.  At  this  precise  moment 
a  new  and  unexpected  event  increased  his  perplexity 
tenfold. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  9th  of  January,  M.  de  Brissac, 
who  had  married  the  cousin  of  M.  de  Retz,  entered  his 


I 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  235 

apartment ;  when,  as  they  rarely  met,  the  coadjutor  in- 
quired to  wllfet  happy  circumstance  he  was  indebted  for  so 
unexpected  a  visit.  In  reply  De  Brissac  stated  that  he 
wished  to  join  the  parliamentary  army,  the  Marshal  de  la 
Meilleraye  having  given  him  offense,  for  which  reason  he 
was  anxious  to  serve  the  opposite  faction.  The  coadjutor, 
upon  this  assurance,  invited  him  to  be  his  companion  to  a 
meeting  of  the  Deputies,  and  requested  him  to  look  from 
the  window  and  ascertain  whether  his  equipage  had  yet 
drawn  up ;  when  M.  de  Brissac,  while  in  the  act  of  com- 
plying, uttered  an  exclamation  of  surprise,  and  announced 
the  arrival  of  the  Duke  d'Elbceuf  and  his  three  sons. 

No  circumstance  could  have  been  more  unwelcome  to 
the  coadjutor,  who  endeavored  to  throw  a  doubt  upon  the 
accuracy  of  the  statement ;  but  M.  de  Brissac  rendered 
this  impossible,  by  asserting  that  they  had  traveled  to- 
gether from  the  bridge  of  Neuilly  to  the  cross  of  Trahoir 
where  he  had  left  them ;  and  that  throughout  the  journey 
the  duke  had  sworn  to  him  that  he  would  render  more 
efficient  service  to  the  Fronde  than  M.  de  Mayenne  his 
cousin  had  ever  done  to  the  League.* 

*  Charle8  de  Lorraine,  Duke  de  Mayenne,  was  the  second  son  of 
Francis  de  Lorraine,  Duke  de  Guise.  Bom  in  1554,  he  distinguished 
himself  at  the  sieges  of  Poitiers  and  La  Rochelle,  and  at  the  battle  of 
Montcoutour.  He  overcame  the  Calvinists  in  Guyenne,  Dauphiny,  and 
Saintonge.  His  brothers  having  been  killed  at  the  States  of  Blois,  in 
1588,  he  declared  himself  Chief  of  the  League,  and  took  the  title  of 
Lieutenant-General  of  the  State  and  Oown  of  France.  He  caused  the 
Cardinal  de  Bourbon  to  be  declared  king,  under  the  name  of  Charles 
IX.,  and  inherited  the  hatred  of  his  brothers  for  Henry  III.,  and  his 
successor,  Henry  IV.  He  marched,  at  the  head  of  30,000  men,  against 
the  latter  monarch,  and  was  beaten  at  the  battle  of  Arques,  and  at  that 
of  Ivry.  He  extinguished  the  faction  of  the  Sixteen,  and  was  finally 
compelled  to  reconcile  himself  with  the  king  in  1599.  Henry  IV.  be- 
came sincerely  attached  to  him,  and  gave  him  the  government  of  the 
Isle  of  France.  H?  died  in  1611,  leaving  by  his  wife,  Henrietta  of 
Savoy,  the  daughter  of  the  Count  de  Tende,  one  son,  Henry,  who  died 
without  issue  in  1621,  at  the  age  of  forty-three. 


236  L  O  L'  1  S     XIV.     AND 

The  perplexity  of  M.  de  Retz  was  at  its  height.  He 
dared  not  confide  to  any  one  the  engagements  into  which 
he  had  entered  with  regard  to  the  Prince  de  Conti  and 
the  Duke  de  Longueville,  lest  they  should  by  some  acci- 
dent reach  the  ears  of  the  court  party,  and  cause  their 
arrest ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  M.  de  Bouillon  had 
declared  that  he  would  not  commit  himself,  until  he  was 
assured  of  the  cooperation  of  the  former ;  as  did  the  Mar- 
shal de  la  Motte  Houdancourt,*  until  he  had  consulted 
with  the  Duke  de  Longueville ;  and  meanwhile,  M.  d'El- 
boeuf,  who  enjoyed  with  the  Parisian  populace  the  old 
popularity  acquired  by  the  Princes  of  Lorraine,  might,  by 
causing  himself  to  be  chosen  generalissimo,  overthrow  all 
his  projects.  The  coadjutor  consequently  resolved  to  gain 
time  by  affecting  to  adopt  his  interest. 

When  the  duke  and  his  three  sons  were  ushered  into 
the  apartment  of  M.  de  Retz,  the  usual  salutations  were 
no  sooner  exchanged,  than  M.  d'Elboeuf  explained  that  he 
and  his  children  had  determined  to  embrace  the  cause  of 
the  parliament;  and  that  knowing  the  influence  which  the 
coadjutor  possessed  over  the  citizens  of  Paris,  he  had  re- 
solved to  pay  him  his  first  visit.  This  politeness  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  crowd  of  flatteries,  in  which  the  sons  joined 
whenever  they  found  an  opportunity  of  sharing  the  con- 

*  Philip  de  la  Motte-Houdancourt,  Duke  de  Cardonne,  was  early 
initiated  in  the  career  of  arms,  and  led  the  French  forces  in  Piedmont 
in  1639.  He  commanded  ha  Catalonia  in  1641,  defeated  the  Spaniards 
before  Tarragona,  took  from  them  several  towns,  and  received  for  hi3 
services  the  baton  of  a  marshal,  in  1642,  the  Duchy  of  Cardonna,  and 
the  title  of  Viceroy  of  Catalonia.  Overcome  before  Lerida  in  1644, 
and  unfortuuate  throughout  the  remainder  of  the  campaign,  he  was  ar- 
rested and  imprisoned  in  the  castle  of  Pierre-Encise  at  Lyons,  until  his 
innocence  was  fully  proved  by  the  parliament  of  Grenoble  in  1648. 
Viceroy  of  Catalonia  for  the  second  time  in  1651,  he  forced  the  enemy's 
line  before  Barcelona  in  1652  ;  and  died  at  Paris  in  the  following  year. 
He  left  only  three  daughters,  the  Duchesses  of  Aumont,  Ventadour,  and 
La  Ferte-Senneterre. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  237 

versation ;  and  the  coadjutor  received  all  these  courteous 
demonstrations  with  a  great  exhibition  of  gratitude  and 
respect,  inquiring,  with  marked  interest,  what  steps  the 
duke  purposed  to  take.  He  was  answered  by  M.  d'El 
bceuf,  that  his  intention  was  immediately  to  offer  his  ser 
vices  to  the  police  and  commercial  magistrates  of  the  city ; 
and  he  asked  whether  M.  de  Retz  were  not  of  opinion  that 
this  was  the  best  course  to  pursue. 

His  host  answered  evasively ;  rather  recommending  that 
he  should  wait  until  the  next  day,  and  then  volunteer  his 
assistance  to  the  chambers  collectively. 

The  duke  affected  to  be  convinced  ;  and  asserting  that 
he  would  be  ruled  in  all  things  by  the  advice  of  his 
newly-elected  friend,  took  his  leave,  followed  by  his  three 
sons. 

They  had  scarcely  withdrawn,  when  the  coadjutor,  who 
believed  that  he  had  detected  a  peculiar  smile  exchanged 
between  M.  d'Elbceuf  and  his  children,  ordered  one  of 
his  people  to  follow  them,  and  to  let  him  know  where 
they  went.  It  was  as  he  had  foreseen  ;  they  had  pro- 
ceeded straight  to  the  Town-Hall.  Neither  had  been 
the  dupe  of  the  other;  and  consequently  there  was  no 
time  to  be  lost,  nor  was  M.  de  Retz  likely  to  be  a 
laggard  in  such  a  war  of  wits.  He  instantly  wrote  to  the 
first  police  magistrate,  Fournier,  who  was  one  of  his 
friends,  to  caution  him  against  allowing  the  municipality 
to  send  M.  d'Elbceuf  to  parliament,  a  step  that  would 
have  secured  to  him  a  position  against  which  it  would 
have  been  difficult  to  struggle ;  and  he  next  desired  such 
of  the  curates  of  Paris  as  were  the  most  devoted  to  his 
own  interests,  to  excite  among  their  parishioners  sus- 
picions of  the  duke's  good  faith  ;  reminding  them  that 
he  was  capable  of  doing  every  thing  for  money,  and  that 
he  was  one  of  the  intimate  friends  of  the  Abbe  de  la 
Riviere,  the  favorite  of  the  Duke  d'Orleans.  Finally,  he 
left  his  house  in  disguise  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening, 


238  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

and  visited  all  the  members  of  parliament  with  whom  he 
was  acquainted,  in  order  to  call  to  their  recollection  that 
M.  d'Elboeuf  was  an  unsafe  partisan,  and  that  the  parlia- 
ment had  a  right  to  consider  it  as  an  affront  that  the  duke 
should  have  offered  his  services  to  the  municipal  magis- 
trates, instead  of  to  themselves,  as  he,  the  coadjutor,  had 
advised.  He  continued  this  pilgrimage  until  two  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  feeling  convinced  that,  on  his  side,  M. 
d'Elboeuf  would  not  lose  his  time ;  and  he  had  just  re- 
tired to  bed,  worn  down  by  fatigue,  and  almost  deter- 
mined to  declare  himself  openly  against  the  duke  on  the 
morrow,  when  he  heard  a  violent  knocking  at  his  door. 
He  had  hastily  called  his  valet-de-chambre,  and  ordered 
him  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  the  disturbance,  when  he 
detected  rapid  steps  approaching  his  chamber;  and  imme- 
diately the  Chevalier  de  la  Chaise,  who  belonged  to  the 
household  of  M.  de  Longueville,  entered  unannounced, 
exclaiming  that  the  Prince  de  Conti  and  the  Duke  de 
Longueville  had  arrived  at  the  Porte  St.  Honore,  but 
that  the  populace  would  not  let  them  enter,  saying  that 
they  were  come  to  betray  the  city. 

The  coadjutor  sprang  from  his  bed.  This  was  the 
event  which  he  had  been  awaiting  impatiently  for  the  last 
three  days ;  he  was  dressed  in  an  instant ;  and,  as  he  had 
ordered  his  carriage  directly  the  news  reached  him,  it  was 
ready  as  soon  as  himself.  He  jumped  in,  followed  by  the 
chevalier,  and  drove  to  the  house  of  Broussel,  whom  he 
summoned  to  accompany  him ;  and  then,  preceded  by 
torch-bearers,  he  advanced  to  the  Porte  St.  Honore, 
where  he  found  the  prince  and  the  duke,  who  had  fled 
from  St.  Germain  on  horseback.  The  crowd  which  had 
collected  was  so  great,  that  it  was  with  difficulty  he 
could  make  his  way ;  and  it  was  broad  daylight  before 
the  gate  was  opened,  as  in  the  excited  slate  of  the  popu- 
lace it  was  necessary  to  harangue  them ;  after  which  he 
conducted  the  princes  to  the  Hotel  de  Longueville.     Hav- 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  239 

ing  had  a  short  interview  with  the  duchess,  and  entreated 
her  to  maintain  her  husband  and  brother  in  their  present 
resolutions,  the  coadjutor  next  hurried  to  the  residence  of 
the  Duke  d'Elbceuf,  to  propose  that  he  should  unite  his 
interests  to  those  of  the  two  brothers  ;  but  he  had  already 
departed  for  the  Palace.*  On  ascertaining  this  fact,  M. 
de  Retz  galloped  back  to  the  Hotel  de  Longueville,  to 
entreat  the  princes  instantly  to  present  themselves  to  the 
parliament :  but  M.  de  Conti,  feeling  fatigued,  had  gone 
to  bed ;  while  M.  de  Longueville,  who  could  never  compel 
himself  to  haste,  remarked  that  there  was  time  enough. 
The  coadjutor,  whose  vexation  was  extreme,  then  pro- 
ceeded to  the  chamber  of  the  pi'ince,  in  order  to  compel 
him  to  rise ;  but  this  attempted  coercion  only  made  him 
more  determined  to  resist :  he  was  overcome  with  sleep ; 
and  to  all  the  remonstrances  of  the  prelate  merely  replied 
that  he  was  very  ill.  M.  de  Retz,  half  mad  with  annoy- 
ance and  disappointment,  then  had  recourse  to  the  duch- 
ess, who  in  her  return  made  her  way  to  the  apartment  of 
her  brother,  where  she  announced  that  the  parliament  had 
risen ;  and  that  the  Duke  d'Elboeuf,  still  followed  by  his 
three  sons,  was  on  his  way  to  the  Town-Hall  to  take  the 
oath. 

Thus  the  opportunity  was  lost ;  and  it  was  consequently 
arranged  that  the  Prince  de  Conti  should  pi-esent  himself  to 
the  parliament  during  the  meeting  of  the  following  day 
The  coadjutor  promised  to  call  for  him ;  and  wishing  to  turn 
to  account  the  few  hours  that  remained,  he  busied  himself 
in  hiring  persons  to  surround  the  house  of  parliament,  and 
to  shout,  "  Long  live  Conti !"  As  for  himself,  he  required 
no  such  unstable  assistance,  for  he  felt  that  he  had  become 
more  popular  than  ever. 

The  Prince  de  Conti  entered  the  carnage  of  the  prelate 
without  any  personal  suite,  that  of  the  coadjutor  being, 
however,  very  numerous ;  and  on  his  way  the  prince  evinced 

*  The  building  in  which  the  parliament  assembled  was  so  called. 


2  10  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

the  most  perfect  confidence  in  the  populace,  although  among 
the  shouts  of,  "  Long  live  the  coadjutor,"  he  could  not  detect 
the  sound  of  his  own  name,  until  they  arrived  in  the  midst 
of  the  men  hired  by  M.  de  Retz.  They  reached  the  palace 
before  M.  d'Elboeuf :  but  the  coadjutor  admits  in  his  Me- 
moirs, that  he  perceived  the  people  had  by  no  means  con- 
quered their  distrust,  and  that  he  rejoiced  when  he  had 
conducted  M.  de  Conti  in  safety  to  the  great  chamber.  The 
Duke  d'Elboeuf,  who  had  already  been  appointed  general 
of  the  parliamentary  forces,  arrived  immediately  afterward, 
followed  by  all  the  city  guards,  who  had  accompanied  him 
since  the  morning.  The  people  shouted  on  all  sides,  "  Long 
live  His  Highness  !  Long  live  Elbceuf !"  mingled  with  cries 
of,  "Long  live  the  coadjutor!"  and  in  the  midst  of  these 
acclamations  the  duke  entered  the  palace,  giving  an  order 
to  the  guard  to  remain  at  the  door  of  the  great  chamber. 
The  coadjutor,  who  dreaded  some  attempt  against  the  prince 
whom  he  protected,  also  remained  at  the  same  door,  with 
all  his  suite  about  him. 

As  soon  as  the  deputies  were  seated,  M.  de  Conti  ad- 
vanced into  the  hall  and  said  with  tolerable  firmness,  that 
having  witnessed  at  St.  Germain  the  pernicious  counsels 
which  were  given  to  the  queen,  he  had  considered  himself 
compelled,  in  his  quality  of  prince  of  the  blood,  to  oppose 
them,  and  was  consequently  come  to  offer  them  his  ser- 
vices. 

He  had  scarcely  ceased  speaking  when  the  Duke  d'El- 
boeuf moved  forward  in  his  turn ;  and,  like  all  weak  per- 
sons who  believe  themselves  to  have  secured  the  vantage 
ground,  he  said  harshly  and  haughtily  that  he  was  well 
aware  of  the  respect  which  he  owed  to  the  Prince  de 
Conti,  but  that  he  could  not  resist  reminding  him  that  it  was 
he  who  had  broken  the  ice,  and  had  first  offered  himself 
to  the  party;  that  it  had  done  him  the  honor  of  confiding 
to  him  the  marshal's  baton,  and  that  he  would  never  resign 
it  while  he  lived. 


THE     COURT      OF     FRANCE.  24 1 

Vehement  applause  followed  this  declaration,  for  the  par- 
liament, like  the  people,  distrusted  the  brother  of  the  man 
who  had  threatened  their  city  with  famine.  The  sitting  was 
then  terminated  by  a  decree  forbidding  all  troops,  under 
risk  of  the  crime  of  lese-majeste,  to  approach  within  twenty 
leagues  of  Paris ;  and  the  coadjutor  found  himself  com- 
pelled, after  a  bootless  errand,  to  be  satisfied  with  conduct- 
ing the  Prince  de  Conti  in  safety  to  the  Hotel  de  Longue- 
ville ;  while  even  in  order  to  effect  this  simple  purpose, 
he  was  obliged  almost  to  carry  him  through  the  crowd  on 
leaving  the  great  chamber.  His  cause  appeared  desperate, 
but  M.  de  Retz  was  not  to  be  easily  discouraged  ;  and  upon 
reflection  he  felt  convinced  that  all  was  not  yet  lost ;  for,  as 
he  himself  says,  "  The  confidence  of  the  people  which  has 
been  cultivated  and  nourished  for  a  long  period,  never  fails 
to  stifle,  if  it  only  have  time  to  germinate  those  slight  and 
budding  flowers  of  public  good-will  which  chance  some- 
times forces  into  growth.'.' 

Chance,  however,  on  this  occasion,  rather  favored  him 
than  his  adversaries  for  on  arriving  at  the  Hotel  de  Longue- 
ville,  the  coadjutor  found  Quincerot,  a  captain  of  Navarre, 
who  had  been  page  to  the  Marquis  de  Ragni,  the  father  of 
Madame  de  Lesdiguieres,*  awaiting  him  as  the  messenger 
of  the  duchess  from  St.  Germain,  under  a  specious  pretext 
relating  to  some  prisoners ;  but  in  fact  to  apprise  M.  de 
Retz  that  an  hour  after  the  arrival  of  the  Prince  de  Conti 
and  the  Duke  de  Longueville  in  Paris,  M.  d'Elbceuf  had 
written  to  the  Abbe  de  la  Riviere  in  these  words : — 

"  Tell  the  queen  and  Monsieur  that  this  devil  of  a  coad- 

*  The  wife  of  Francis  de  Bonne,  Duke  de  Lesdiguieres,  who  was 
born  at  St.  Bonnet,  in  Upper  Dauphiny,  in  1543,  was  appointed  general 
of  the  Huguenots,  and  gained  several  victories  over  the  Catholics.  When 
Henry  IV.  became  King  of  France,  he  appointed  him  lieutenant  general 
of  the  forces  in  Piedmont,  Savoy,  and  Dauphiny.  Lesdiguieres  gained 
great  advantages  over  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  and  was  created  marshal  of 
France  in  1608.  He  embraced  Catholicism  in  1612,  and  died  in  1626, 
with  the  title  of  Constable. 
VOL.   I. L 


242  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

iutor  is  losing  every  thing  here  ;  that  two  days  hence  I  shall 
no  longer  possess  any  power ;  but  that  if  they  will  give  me 
their  support,  I  will  prove  to  them  that  I  did  not  come  to 
Paris  with  so  bad  an  intention  as  they  suppose." 

La  Riviere  showed  this  letter  to  the  cardinal,  who  only 
laughed,  and  in  his  turn  exhibited  it  to  the  Marshal  de 
Villeroy.  In  the  hands  of  the  coadjutor,  however,  it  became 
a  dangerous  weapon  against  the  writer.  He  did  not  lose  a 
moment,'  but  aware,  as  he  declares,  that  nothing  increases 
the  value  of  a  communication  so  much  as  an  appearance  of 
mystery,  he  showed  it  in  strict  confidence,  before  nightfall 
to  between  four  and  five  hundred  persons.  At  nine  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  several  of  the  parochial  clergy  informed 
him  that  the  confidence  which  the  Prince  de  Conti  had 
shown  in  the  people,  by  venturing  himself  alone,  and  with- 
out his  personal  followers,  in  the  carriage  of  the  prelate, 
even  when  he  knew  that  they  were  prejudiced  against  him, 
had  produced  a  great  and  favorable  impression  ;  while  an 
hour  later  he  received  above  fifty  letters,  informing  him 
that  both  his  clerical  and  military  agents  had  succeeded  ad- 
mirably in  their  efforts  to  produce  a  reaction  in  the  popular 
feeling,  and  that  proofs  of  this  encouraging  change  were 
evident.  The  coadjutor,  with  all  the  perspicacity  of  a  man 
who  had  thoroughly  studied  the  nature  of  a  Paris  mob, 
felt  that  the  moment  was  now  come  when  he  could  thor- 
oughly disembarrass  himself  of  the  Duke  d'Elboeuf,  if  he 
could  only  succeed  in  making  him  ridiculous.  In  all  ages 
ridicule  has  been  a  formidable  weapon  against  a  Frenchman : 
he  can  resist  poverty,  disgrace,  exile,  or  bereavement ;  but 
once  make  him  appear  absurd,  and  he  ventures  upon  no 
further  struggle.  It  is  confidently  asserted  that  when  Louis 
XVIII.  was  compelled  to  leave  France,  he  thought  less  of 
the  crown  which  was  slipping  from  his  brow,  than  of  the 
epigrams  which  would  succeed  his  departure. 

In  the  present  emergency,  the  coadjutor  had  no  occasion 
to  seek  for  an  associate  in  his  purpose.     Marigny  was  at 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  243 

his  elbow ;  who  forthwith  wrote  the  famous  ballad  of  "  M. 
d'Elboeuf  and  his  Sons,"  *  which  was  the  first  of  a  large  family 
of  similar  pasquinades.  A  hundred  copies  were  transcribed, 
distributed  in  the  streets,  and  pasted  up  at  the  corners  during 
the  night ;  and  consequently,  ere  sunset  the  next  evening, 
it  was  in  every  mouth,  and  might  be  heard  in  every  thor- 
oughfare. Fortune  had  decidedly  declared  for  the  coadju- 
tor, for  at  this  precise  moment  news  arrived  that  the  king's 
troops  had  possessed  themselves  of  Charenton*.  M.  d'El- 
boeuf had  been  too  much  occupied  in  his  own  defence  to 
remember  that  it  was  necessary  to  defend  Paris ;  and  M. 
de  Retz  seized  that  opportunity  of  circulating  copies  of 
the  letter  which  the  duke  had  written  to  La  Riviere  ;  nor 
did  he  fail  to  remind  his  partisans  that  if  they  desired 
a  proof  of  his  cooperation  with  the  court,  they  had  now  se- 
cured it. 

A  little  after  midnight,  M.  de  Longueville,  the  Marshal 
de  la  Motte-Houdancourt,  and  the  coadjutor  went  to  the 
residence  of  the  Duke  de  Bouillon,  who  was  confined  to  his 
bed  with  the  gout,  and  had  consequently  hitherto  taken  no 
share  in  their  proceedings.  At  first  he  was  reluctant  to 
declare  himself;  but  when  they  had  thoroughly  explained 
their  plans,  and  proved  to  him  the  facility  with  which  they 
might  be  accomplished,  he  consented  to  join  the  popular 
faction.  Their  proceedings  for  the  morrow  were  arranged; 
and  then  each  returned  to  his  own  home.     The  next  morn- 

*  The  ballad  in  question  may  be  freely  rendered  thus : — 

"  M.  d'Elboeuf  and  his  sons 

Have  done  wonders  all  the  four  ; 

They  are  pomp  and  pride  all  o'er, 

M.  d'Elbceuf  and  his  sons  ; 

For  two  thousand  years  and  more, 

Will  their  triumphs  be  talked  o'er  ; 

M.  d'Elbceuf  and  his  sons 

Have  done  wonders  all  the  four." 
t  A  town  in  the  Department  of  the  Seine,  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Marne,  two  leagues  distant  from  Paris.     It  is  now  celebrated  for  a  lu- 
natic asylum  of  immense  extent. 


2  i  1  L  O  IT  I  &    X  1  V.     AND 

in"-  at  ten  o'clock,  the  Prince -de  Conti,  his  brother-in-law, 
and  the  coadjutor,  left  the  Hotel  de  Longueville  in  the  most 
magnificent  of  the  duchess's  equipages,  followed  by  a  nu- 
merous train  in  the  livery  of  the  prince.  M.  de  Retz  placed 
himself  near  the  door,  in  order  that  he  might  be  visible  to 
the  people,  and  thus  they  advanced  at  a  slow  pace  toward 
the  palace.  They  had  not  proceeded  far  ere  the  coadjutor 
began  to  reap  the  harvest  which  he  had  so  sedulously  sown, 
for  shouts  of  "  Long  live  the  Prince  de  Conti !"  resounded 
on  all  sides ;  while  at  intervals  might  be  heard  snatches  of 
the  ballad  of  "  M.  d'Elbceuf  and  his  three  Sons,"  to  which 
several  more  verses  had  already  been  appended.  As  they 
advanced,  the  crowd  became  more  dense ;  and  when  they 
arrived  at  the  palace  they  were  greeted  with  one  unanimous 
peal  of  applause. 

On  presenting  themselves,  the  prince  once  more  offered 
his  sendees  ;  after  which  the  Duke  de  Longueville  entered; 
and  having  followed  his  example,  and  moreover  tendered 
to  the  assembly  the  cooperation  of  Rouen,  Caen,  Dieppe, 
and  in  short  of  all  Normandy,  he  proposed  as  his  surety  that 
the  duchess  and  her  children  should  reside  at  the  Town-Hall. 
This  offer  was  warmly  and  energetically  received,  both  by 
the  companies,  and  by  the  Duke  de  Bouillon,  who,  in  con- 
sequence of  his  gout,  was  supported  by  two  gentlemen  of 
his  household.  Having  seated  himself  near  M.  de  Longue- 
ville, he  expressed,  as  had  been  previously  arranged  during 
the  night,  the  gratification  that  he  should  feel  in  serving  the 
parliament  under  so  great  a  prince  as  M.  de  Conti;  upon 
which  the  Duke  d'Elbceuf  renewed  his  declaration  that  he 
would  never  resign  the  baton  which  had  been  delivered  to 
him. 

A  murmur  arose  in  the  assembly  as  this  contestation  com- 
menced ;  while  M.  d'Elbceuf  continued  to  speak  with  con- 
siderable talent,  but  with  great  want  of  judgment.  He 
placed  too  much  reliance  on  his  own  strength  had,  and 
not  measured  the  amount  of  that  which  was  opposed  to  him. 


THE     C  O  U  It  T     O  F     FRAN  C  E.  245 

He  was  still  pursuing  the  wax-  of  words  into  which  he  had 
entered,  when,  according  to  the  arrangement  made  by  the 
coadjutor  and  his  friends,  the  Marshal  de  la  Motte-Houdan- 
court  presented  himself  in  his  turn ;  and  having  taken  a 
seat  below  the  Duke  de  Bouillon,  repeated  the  same  offers 
of  service  which  had  been  made  by  those  who  preceded 
him.  The  effect  of  this  third  apparition  was  all-powerful;  the 
marshal,  although  not  a  man  of  much  talent,  was  neverthe- 
less known  to  be  a  brave  soldier,  and  one  whose  partisan- 
ship could  not  fail  to  be  at  once  creditable  and  useful. 
Under  such  circumstances  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  party 
of  the  Prince  de  Conti  gained  considerable  ground ;  but  as, 
even  in  the  parliament,  there  were  certain  individuals  who 
still  clung  to  the  court,  the  verdict  in  his  favor  was  not  yet 
unanimous.  The  first  impulse  of  the  President  Mole*  was 
to  profit  by  this  struggle  in  order  to  weaken  both  parties 
and  thus  strengthen  the  cause  of  the  regent ;  in  consequence 
of  which  he  proposed  that  the  decision  of  the  chambers 
should  be  deferred  until  the  meeting  of  the  following  day :  but 
the  President  de  Mesme,  who  was  more  long-sighted,  leaned 
toward  him,  and  whispered  in  his  ear  that  he  was  acting  with 
imprudence,  as  the  princes  would,  in  all  probability,  if  left  to 
themselves,  come  to  some  arrangement  prejudicial  to  the 
authority  of  the  parliament ;  adding,  that  it  was  easy  to 
perceive  M.  d'Elbceuf  had  been  duped,  and  that  his  adver- 
saries were  already  masters  of  Paris.  He  was  yet  speak- 
ing, when  the  President  le  Coigneux,  who  was  in  the  in- 

*  Matthew  Mole,  Lord  of  Champlatreux,  Lassy,  &c,  was  descended 
from  an  ancient  and  noble  family  of  Troyes,  in  Champagne,  to  which 
France  is  indebted  for  a  great  number  of  excellent  magistrates.  He 
was  the  most  celebrated  among  them,  and  won  universal  esteem  by  his 
probity,  his  talents,  and  his  zeal  for  the  public  welfare  and  the  glory  of 
the  State.  He  was  made  Councilor  to  the  Parliament  in  1606,  and  be- 
came successively  President  of  Requests,  Proeureur-G&niral,  and,  final- 
ly, First  President  of  the  Parliament  of  Paris,  in  1641.  He  was  appoint- 
ed Keeper  of  the  Seals  at  Chateauneuf;  and  died  in  1656.  Many  traits 
of  firmness  and  fearlessness  are  quoted  of  this  exemplary  magistrate. 


2  It*.  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

hi.  st  of  the  coadjutor,  raised  his  voice,  and  declared  that 
some  resolution  must  be  adopted  before  they  dined,  even 
should  their  dinner  be  deferred  until  midnight;  and  that 
he  should  suggest  that  each  of  the  gentlemen  should  pri- 
vately make  known  his  intentions,  after  which  the  assembly 
would  be  enabled  to  decide  which  among  them  was  best 
disposed  toward  the  state. 

This  counsel  was  at  once  acted  upon.  The  Prince  de 
Conti  and  the  Duke  de  Longueville  were  conducted  to  one 
apartment,  and  MM.  de  Novion  and  de  Bellievre  (both 
friends  of  M.  de  Conti)  and  the  Duke  d'Elbceuf  to  another. 
The  coadjutor  perceived  that  the  triumph  of  his  cause  was 
certain  ;  and,  accordingly,  he  had  no  sooner  seen  the  prin- 
ces thus  closeted,  than  he  hurried  from  the  palace  to  the 
Hotel  de  Longueville,  where  he  took  up  the  duchesses  de 
Longueville  and  de  Bouillon  with  their  children,  and  at  once 
drove  them  to  the  Town-Hall.  The  small-pox,  from  which 
Madame  de  Longueville  had  but  recently  recovered,  had 
added  to  the  brilliancy  of  her  complexion,  although  it  had 
somewhat  deteriorated  her  actual  beauty  ;  while  Madame 
de  Bouillon,  although  on  the  decline,  was  still  a  strikingly 
handsome  woman  :  and  when  they  appeared  upon  the  steps 
of  the  Town-Hall,  each  with  an  infant  in  her  arms,  the  ef- 
fect produced  upon  the  people  was  electrical. 

The  Greve  was  crowded,  even  to  the  roofs  of  the 
houses ;  and  while  the  men  shouted  for  joy,  the  women 
wept,  for  they  felt  the  whole  beauty  of  the  spectacle.  Ma- 
dame de  Longueville  put  the  finishing-stroke  to  this  enthu- 
siasm by  lifting  her  child  above  her  head,  and  exclaiming, 
in  a  clear  and  silvery  voice,  "  Parisians  !  our  husbands  con- 
fide to  you  what  is  dearest  to  them  on  earth — their  wives, 
and  their  children  !"  She  was  answered  by  a  peal  of  joy- 
ous clamor,  and  cries  of  wild  delight ;  and  as  upon  occa- 
sions such  as  these  the  coadjutor  never  suffered  himself  to 
fall  into  insignificance,  he  followed  up  her  address  by  a 
shower  of  gold,  which  he  poured  down  from  the  window 


T  HE     COURT     OF     FRANC  E.  247 

of  the  Town-Hall ;  and  then,  having  confided  the  ladies  to 
the  care  of  MM.  Noirmoutier  and  Mizon,  he  retraced  his 
steps  to  the  palace,  followed  by  a  dense  throng  of  men, 
many  of  whom  had  arms  in  their  hands,  and  who  kept  up  so 
incessant  a  strain  of  acclamation,  that  every  other  sound  was 
drowned.  The  captain  of  the  Duke  d'Elbceuf 's  guard,  who 
witnessed  the  whole  scene,  had  already  preceded  him  to  the 
palace,  feeling  convinced'  that  all  the  dukes  hopes  were  at 
an  end,  and  being  anxious  to  apprise  him  of  the  circum- 
stance. He  found  him  already  prepared  for  failure  ;  and 
the  president  Bellievre  had  no  sooner,  in  reply  to  his  inqui- 
ry of  the  meaning  of  all  the  drumming  and  trumpeting 
without,  been  informed  by  the  coadjutor  in  his  most  florid 
style,  of  the  circumstances  of  the  scene  which  he  had  just 
quitted,  than  M.  d'Elbceuf  declared  that  he  would  no  longer 
offer  any  resistance  to  what  appeared  to  be  the  general 
wish  of  the  assembly,  but  was  ready,  like  the  Duke  de 
Bouillon  and  the  Marshal  de  la  Motte-Houdancourt,  to 
serve  under  the  orders  of  the  Prince  de  Conti ;  requesting 
only  that  it  might  be  himself  to  whom  the  privilege  was  ac- 
corded of  summoning  the  Bastille  to  surrender,  as  the  only 
equivalent  which  he  would  ask  for  his  resignation  of  the 
sovereign  authority.  This  was  conceded,  and  accom- 
plished the  same  afternoon,  for  the  Bastille  had  never  con- 
templated offering  any  resistance ;  and  M.  du  Tremblay,  its 
governor,  had  permission  to  march  out,  three  days  being 
allowed  him  to  remove  his  property.* 

While  M.  d'Elbceuf  was  superintending  the  surrender  of 
the  Bastille,  the  Marquis  du  Noirmoutier,  the  Marquis  de 
la  Boulaie,  and  M.  de  Laigues,  marched  to  the  relief  of 
Charenton.     The  Mazarins  endeavored  to  hold  the  town, 

*  "  The  Bastille  surrendered,  after  having  received,  for  form's  sake, 
five  or  six  cannon-shots.  It  was  amusing  enough  to  see  the  ladies  who 
were  present  at  this  famous  siege,  carry  their  chairs  to  the  garden  of 
the  arsenal  where  the  battery  was  erected,  as  though  they  were  going 
to  hear  a  sermon." — Memoires  du  Cardinal  de  Retz. 


'J  IS  LOUIS      XIV.      AND 

but  they  were  driven  out;  and,  m  consequence,  at  seven 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  these  gay  cavaliers,  still  animated  by 
the  first  smell  of  gunpowder,  arrived  at  the  Town-Hall,  in 
their  cuirasses,  where  they  were  enabled  to  be  the  heralds 
of  their  own  success ;  for  the  apartments  of  Madame  de 
Lonoueville  were  crowded,  and  the  mixture  of  blue  scarfs, 
ladies,  armor,  and  music  in  the  saloon,  blended  with  the 
trumpets  which  were  pealing  through  the  square,  produced 
a  spectacle  rarely  seen  beyond  the  walls  of  a  theater,  or  the 
pages  of  a  romance.  M.  de  Noirmoutier,  who  was  a  great 
admirer  of  Astree*  remarked  that  he  could  fancy  they  were 
beseiged  in  Marcilly  ;  to  which  the  coadjutor  replied,  that 
the  comparison  could  not  be  borne  out ;  for  that  although 
it  was  certain  that  Madame  de  Longueville  was  as  beauti- 
ful as  Galatea,  it  was  equally  notorious  the  Prince  of  Mar- 
sillac  was  not  so  honest  a  man  as  Lindamor.  The  coadjutor 
mentions,  that  as  he  uttered  the  remark,  he  observed  the 
"  little  shrimp"  who  was  standing  at  a  window  near  him, 
and  must  have  overheard  it ;  to  which  circumstance  he  at- 
tributes the  hatred  which  the  prince  thenceforward  mani- 
fested toward  him.  Meanwhile,  the  real  court  of  France 
was  assuredly  that  which  was  assembled  at  the  Town-Hall 

*  A  celebrated  romance,  written  by  Honore  d'Urfe,  Count  de  Chateau- 
neuf,  who  was  born  at  Marseilles  in  15G7,  of  an  illustrious  house  of 
Forez,  which  was  originally  Swabian.  He  was  destined  by  his  family 
to  become  a  Knight  of  Malta ;  but,  unwilling  to  incur  the  obligation  of 
celibacy,  and  unable  to  conquer  a  passion  which  he  had  nourished  from 
his  boyhood  for  Diana  de  Chateauinorant,  he  returned  home ;  where, 
on  his  arrival,  he  found  his  mistress  married  to  his  elder  brother.  At 
the  end  of  twenty-two-years,  this  marriage  having  been  annulled,  Ho- 
nore d'Urfe  married  Diana  (1596)  ;  but,  soon  becoming  disgusted  with 
her,  they  separated,  and  he  retired  to  Piedmont.  He  died  in  1626. 
While  there,  he  wrote  his  romance  of  Astrie,  a  pastoral,  in  four  volumes, 
8  vo,  which  delighted  all  Europe  for  more  than  half  a  century.  It  is  af- 
firmed that  the  plot  is  based  upon  the  history  of  Diana  de  Chateauino- 
rant, and  the  gallantries  of  Henry  IV.  This  pastoral  romance,  almost 
unknown  in  our  times,  gave  birth  to  those  of  the  Scuderis,  the  Calpre- 
nedes,  &c. 


THE     COURT     U  F     F  R  A  N  C  E.  249 

of  Paris.  There  all  was  splendor,  gallantry,  and  amuse- 
ment. The  rank  of  the  leaders  of  the  Fronde  gave  conse- 
quence to  the  circle  ;  while  the  beauty  of  the  ladies,  and  the 
high  fashion  of  the  two  duchesses,  lent  it  a  crowning  grace. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  king,  the  queen,  and  the  cardinal, 
were  inhabiting  an  unfurnished  palace,  and  sleeping  upon 
straw,  which  became  so  scarce  on  their  first  arrival  at  St. 
Germain,  that  Madame  de  Motteville  declares  in  her  Me- 
moirs, it  could  not  be  obtained  for  money. 

The  position  alike  of  the  crown  and  of  the  capital  was 
extraordinary,  unnatural,  and  threatening. 

The  Prince  de  Conde  was,  meanwhile,  as  active  as  the 
leaders  of  the  Fronde,  and  soon  established  his  quarters. 
He  posted  the  Marshal  du  Plessis  at  St.  Denis ;  the  Marshal 
de  Grammont  at  St.  Cloud ;  and  M.  de  Palluau  at  Sevres. 

The  alarm  had  been  great  at  St.  Germain,  when  the  re- 
capture of  Charenton  and  the  surrender  of  the  Bastille  be- 
came known ;  and  it  was  heightened  by  the  fact  that  the 
prince  did  not  return  until  late  from  his  outposts,  a  circum- 
stance which  induced  whispers  that  he  had  joined  his  broth- 
er in  Paris.  The  cardinal,  who  never  doubted  that  such 
was  the  case,  was -on  the  point  of  quitting  the  court,  when 
the  prince  reappeared,  furious  against  M.  de  Conti,  and 
still  more  so  against  the  Duchess  de  Longueville,  to  whom 
the  princess,  her  mother,  who  was  also  at  St.  Germain, 
wrote  on  the  morrow  a  detailed  account  of  the  whole  af- 
fair; and  mentioned  that,  as  the  prince  alighted  at  the  pal- 
ace-gate, he  chanced  to  see  a  poor  hunchback,  whom  he 
compelled  to  accompany  him  to  the  presence  of  the  regent, 
which  he  had  no  sooner  reached  than  he  thrust  him  for- 
ward, exclaiming,  "  Here,  madam,  I  have  brought  you  the 
general  of  the  Parisians  !"  a  piece  of  bitter  wit  which  could 
only  be  excused  by  the  excitement  under  which  it  was  ut- 
tered. The  queen  laughed  heartily  at  this  sally ;  and  the 
contempt  with  which  M.  de  Conde  spoke  of  the  rebels  put 
the  court  into  high  spirits. 


^50  LOUIS     XI  V.     A  N  D 

On  their  side,  the  Frondeurs  replied  by  new  songs ;  and 
they  had  no  sooner  learned  the  anger  of  the  prince  against 
M.  de  Conti,  and  that  he  was  preparing  to  give  him  battle, 
than  the  streets  rung  with  the  following  doggerel  voice  : 

"  Conde,  is  yours  a  glorious  trade, 
Even  should  you  gain  the  victor}', 
Over  the  office  and  the  trade  1 
You  will  but  make  your  noble  mother 
Say,  '  My  tall  son  is  very  cross, 
For  he  has  beat  his  little  brother.'  " 

In  this  extraordinary  war,  in  which  more  words  than 
shots  were  exchanged,  such  an  attack  could  not  be  suffer- 
ed to  remain  unanswered ;  and,  accordingly,  the  Mazarins 
replied  by  a  pasquinade  against  the  Duke  de  Bouillon,  of 
equal  poetical  value,  and  which  ran  thus  : 

"  The  brave  M.  de  Bouillon 
Is  sadly  troubled  with  the  gout ; 
He  is  as  bold  as  a  Hon, 
The  brave  M.  de  Bouillon; 
But  when  he  meets  a  battalion, 
He  soon  wheels  to  the  right-about ; 
This  brave  M.  de  Bouillon 
Who  is  tormented  with  the  gout." 

Nor  did  the  ladies  fare  better  than  their  champions  m 
this  war  of  wits  ;  as  is  amply  proved  by  the  collection  of 
cotemporaneous  scandal  made  by  M.  de  Maurepas,  and 
which  fills  no  less  than  forty-four  volumes* 

While  these  events  were  progressing,  a  new  competitor 
for  the  government  of  Paris  appeared  in  the  person  of  the 
Duke  de  Beaufort,  who,  since  he  had  escaped  from  Vin- 
cennes,  had  remained  concealed  in  the  Vendomois.  On  his 
arrival  in  the  capital,  he  sent  for  M.  de  Montresor,t  who, 
having  received  his  directions,  hastened  to  the  coadjutor  to 
inform  him  that  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  prince  would 

*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 

t  Afterward  Marshal  de  Cluirenbault. 


THE     COU  R  T      OF     FRAN  C  E.  251 

pay  him  a  visit.  "  I  forestalled  him,"  says  M.  de  Retz, 
"  and  waited  upon  him  myself.  I  did  not  find  that  his  im- 
prisonment had  given  him  any  more  sense,  though  it  is 
certain  that  it  had  gained  him  more  reputation.  He  had 
sustained  it  with  firmness,  and  terminated  it  with  courage  : 
and  it  was  even  meritorious  that  he  should  not  have  left  the 
banks  of  the  Loire  at  a  time  when,  in  truth,  it  required  both 
firmness  and  address  to  maintain  his  position.*  *  *  *  *  Mon- 
tresor,  who  had  faithfully  reported  to  him  all  the  obliga- 
tions which  he  was  under  to  myself,  had  taken  every  step 
to  insure  a  close  intimacy  between  us.  You  will  easily  be- 
lieve that  it  was  not  disadvantageous  to  him  from  my  posi- 
tion in  the  party ;  and  it  was  almost  necessary  to  me,  be- 
cause my  profession  impeding  me  on  a  thousand  occasions, 
I  required  a  man  whom  I  could,  in  certain  circumstances, 
place  before  rne.  The  Marshal  de  la  Motte  was  so  de- 
pendent on  M.  de  Longueville  that  I  never  could  answer 
for  him.  M.  de  Bouillon  was  not  a  subject  to  be  governed. 
I  required  a  phantom,  but  I  wanted  no  more  than  a  phan- 
tom ;  and,  fortunately  for  me,  it  happened  that  this  phantom 
was  the  grandson  of  Henry  the  Great ;  that  he  talked  as 
they  talk  in  the  markets,  which  is  not  usual  with  the  de- 
scendants of  Henry  the  Great ;  and  that  he  had  very  long 
and  very  light  hair.  You  can  not  conceive  the  value  of 
these  circumstances,  nor  can  you  imagine  the  effect  which 
they  produced  upon  the  people."* 

On  the  very  day  of  his  arrival,  the  duke  drove  through 
the  streets  of  Paris  with  the  coadjutor,  and  they  both  seated 
themselves  near  the  same  door  of  the  carriage,  in  order 
that  they  might  be  simultaneously  recognized ;  while 
M.  de  Retz  moreover  constantly  pointed  out  his  compan- 
ion to  the  populace,  coupling  his  name  with  the  most  laud- 
atory epithets  as  they  passed  along ;  until,  on  their  arrival 
in  the  rue  St.  Denis,  the  enthusiasm  of  the  citizens  had  ex- 
ceeded all  bounds ;  and  while  the  men  shouted  "  Long  live 
*  Memoires  clu  Cardinal  de  Retz. 


•2;>--l  LOUIS     XIV.     AXD 

Beaufort !"  the  women  pressed  upon  him  to  kiss  his  hands. 
When  he  reached  the  market-stalls  all  previous  demonstra- 
tions appeared,  however,  to  fade  into  lukewarmness,  com- 
pared with  the  wild  exhibition  of  delight  indulged  in  by 
the  saleswomen,  who  compelled  him  to  alight  from  his  car- 
riage, in  order  that  they  might  embrace  him  at  their  ease. 

On  the  morrow,  the  duke  presented  a  petition  to  parlia- 
ment, in  which  he  demanded  a  hearing,  in  order  that  he 
might  clear  himself  of  the  accusation  brought  against  him 
of  having  conspired  against  the  person  of  the  cardinal ;  a 
privilege  which  was  accorded  on  the  following  day. 

Meanwhile,  Paris  was  becoming  populated  with  princes 
all  eager  to  join  the  faction  against  the  court,  and  with 
nobles  who  came  to  serve  under  them.  Already  the  par- 
liament counted  among  its  defenders  the  Prince  de  Conti, 
the  Duke  de  Longueville,  the  Duke  d'Elbceuf,  the  Duke 
de  Bouillon,  the  Duke  de  Chevreuse,  the  Marshal  de  la 
Motte-Houdancourt,  the  Duke  de  Brissac,  the  Duke  de 
Luynes,  the  Marquis  de  Vitry,  the  Prince  de  Marsillac, 
the  Marquis  de  Noirmoutier,  the  Marquis  de  la  Boulaie, 
the  Count  de  Fiesque,  the  Count  de  Maure,  the  Marquis 
de  Laisgues,  the  Count  de  Matha,  the  Marquis  de  Fos- 
seuse,  the  Count  de  Montresor,  the  Marquis  d'Aligre,  and 
the  young  and  handsome  Tancrede  de  Rohan,  whom  a 
presumed  illegitimacy  of  birth  had  deprived  of  the  illustri- 
ous name  of  his  family  by  a  decree  of  the  privy  council,  at 
the  instigation  of  the  Prince  de  Conde. 

The  blow  was  terrible,  for  he  was  a  youth  of  high  spirit, 
and  reckless  bravery,  of  great  personal  beauty,  and  noble 
aspirations  ;  and,  thus  constituted,  he  bitterly  felt  the  blight, 
which,  from  the  known  frailty  of  his  mother  (Marguerite 
de  Bethune-Sully),  had  settled  upon  his  fortunes.  He  long- 
ed to  shout  the  noble  war-cry  of  his  ancestors :  "  Roi  ne 
puis,  Prince  ne  daigne,  Rohan  je  suis  /"*  He  remember- 
ed, with  a  throbbing  heart,  that  he  was  the  nephew  of  that 

*  "King  I  can't,  Prince  I  scorn,  Rohan  I  ami" 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  253 

Catherine  de  Soubise,  Duchesse  de  Deux  Ponts,  who  re- 
plied to  the  dishonorable  overtures  of  Henry  IV. :  "  Sire, 
I  am  too  poor  to  become  your  wife,  and  too  well-born  to 
become  your  mistress."  And  he  found  himself  an  outcast 
from  his  race,  nameless,  homeless,  and  kinless,  when  he 
flung  himself,  in  desperation,  into  the  Fronde.  "  The 
prince,"  he  said,  proudly,  "  has  beaten  me  in  parliament ; 
but  should  I  meet  him  on  the  road  to  Charenton,  it  will 
then  be  seen  which  of  the  two  must  yield."  And  when, 
on  one  occasion  he  was  expostulated  with  by  a  friend  for 
fatiguing  himself  unnecessarily  in  wearing  his  arms  day 
and  night,  and  figuring  in  every  skirmish  that  took  place, 
he  answered,  with  a  bitter  smile :  "  Situated  as  I  am,  I 
have  no  time  for  rest ;  if  I  make  no  personal  effort  to  save 
myself,  the  world  will  soon  be  of  the  same  opinion  as  the 
parliament." 

Madame  de  Rohan  had  but  one  daughter,  who  was  the 
heiress  of  the  duke,  and  who  married  the  Count  de  Cha- 
bot,  her  husband  assuming  the  name  of  Rohan ;  which, 
without  this  privilege,  would  have  been  extinct  in  the  per- 
son of  Henry,  the  second  duke,  who  was  killed  on  the  13th 
of  April,  1638,  at  the  battle  of  Reinfeld. 


— 
CHAPTER  XL 

Prudence  of  the  Parliament — Seizure  of  the  Cardinal's  Property — Mu- 
nificence of  the  City  to  the  Queen  of  England — An  exiled  Princess — 
The  condemned  Prisoner — Exchange  of  Prisoners — Check  of  the 
Royal  Forces  before  Rouen — The  first  Sortie — "  The  First  of  the 
Corinthians" — Death  of  Tancred  de  Rohan — Battle  of  Charenton — 
Death  of  Chanleu — The  Ball  and  the  Baton — Defeat  of  the  Frondeurs 
at  Charenton  and  Ville-Juif — The  Herald — Treaty  with  the  Princes 
— Turemie  declares  for  the  Parliament — Terms  of  the  Treaty — Venal- 
ity of  the  Princes — The  Citizen-Prince. 

The  measures  adopted  by  the  parliament  were  so  pru- 
dent that  its  position  became  daily  more  stable.  The  royal 
army  amounted  only  to  seven  or  eight  thousand  men,  while 
the  organized  militia  of  Paris  comprised  more  than  sixty 
thousand.  The  forces  under  the  Prince  de  Conde  had 
made  an  attempt  to  occupy  Charenton,  Lagny,  Corbeil, 
Poissy,  and  Pontoise ;  but  before  they  could  accomplish 
their  object,  the  peasantry,  in  the  anticipation  of  reaping  a 
golden  harvest,  had  conveyed  all  the  provisions  they  pos- 
sessed to  Paris  ;  and  these,  together  with  the  small  convoys 
which  escaped  the  vigilance  of  the  royal  troops,  sufficed 
for  the  supply  of  the  capital.     Moreover,  in  virtue  of  the 


LOUIri    XIV.     AND     THE     COURT    OF     1'RANCE.     255 

decree  pronounced  against  Mazarin,  all  his  property,  both 
personal  and  real,  had  been  seized,  as  well  as  his  public 
income ;  and,  as  if  to  prove  to  the  court  that  there  was  no 
scarcity  of  money  in  the  rebel  city,  forty  thousand  livres 
were  sent  to  the  Queen  of  England,  who  had  remained  at 
the  Louvre,  where,  for  several  previous  months,  the  cardi- 
nal had  suffered  her  to  exist  almost  in  a  state  of  famine. 

It  was  to  the  influence  of  the  coadjutor  that  Henrietta- 
Maria  was  now  indebted  for  this  well-timed  assistance. 
Five  or  six  days  before  the  court  left  Paris,  he  had  been  to 
visit  her,  and  found  her  sitting  by  the  bedside  of  her  daugh- 
ter. On  his  entrance  she  said,  with  a  melancholy  smile, 
"  You  see,  M.  le  Coadjutor,  that  I  am  keeping  Henrietta 
company.*  The  poor  child  has  not  been  able  to  leave  her 
bed  to-day,  because  we  have  no  fire."  The  cardinal  had, 
in  fact,  omitted  during  the  last  six  months  to  pay  the  queen's 
pension  ;  the  wood- merchants  refused  to  furnish  any  fur- 
ther fuel,  and  there  was  not  a  morsel' of  wood  in  the  palace. 
M.  de  Retz  afforded  instant  relief  to  the  royal  sufferer,  at 
once  the  daughter,  the  wife,  and  the  mother  of  kings ;  and 
he  no  sooner  saw  the  parliament  possessed  of  sufficient 
funds  to  justify  the  suggestion,  than  he  descanted  indig- 
nantly and  energetically  upon  this  unheard-of  abandon- 
ment ;  when  the  sum  which  we  have  stated  was  at  once 
voted  to  the  granddaughter  of  Henry  the  Great. 

The  faction  having  assumed  strength  and  consistency, 
and  requiring  only  a  formal  recognition  through  the  medi- 
um of  the  cartel,  once  more  found  itself  in  the  ascendant 
by  the  mere  force  of  opportunity.  A  cornet  of  the  Regi- 
ment de  Retz  having  been  taken  by  a  party  of  the  royal 
forces,  and  conveyed  to  St.  Germain,  the  queen  desired 
that  he  should  immediately  lose  his  head.  The  grand-pro- 
vost, however,  who  anticipated  the  sentence,  and  who  was 
a  friend  of  the  coadjutor,  no  sooner  recognized  the  prison- 

*  The  Princess  Henrietta  had  been  conveyed  privately  to  France  by 
her  governess,  the  Countess  of  Dalkeith. 


25(J  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

er,  than  he  dispatched  a  messenger  to  apprise  the  latter  of 
his  capture ;  and  M.  de  Retz  instantly  sent  a  trumpeter  to 
M.  de  Palluau,  who  commanded  at  Sevres,  with,  as  he  him- 
self expresses  it,  "  a  very  ecclesiastical  letter,"  but  one 
which  warned  the  royalist  general  of  the  certainty  of  im- 
mediate reprisals ;  and  afforded  information,  at  the  same 
time,  that  the  parliamentary  party  had  also  made  several 
prisoners  ;  among  whom,  moreover,  was  M.  d'Olonne,*  who 
had  been  arrested  as  he  was  endeavoring  to  escape  from 
the  city  in  the  disguise  of  a  lackey. 

M.  de  Palluau  lost  no  time  in  proceeding  to  St.  Germain, 
where  he  represented  the  inevitable  consequences  of  the 
proposed  execution  ;  but  it  was  with  considerable  difficulty 
that  the  regent  was  prevailed  upon  to  defer  it  until  the  fol- 
lowing day.  In  the  interval  she  was,  however,  compelled 
to  comprehend  and  admit  the  probably  mischievous  results 
of  so  glaring  an  act  of  hostility ;  and  an  exchange  was  con- 
sequently made  between  the  captured  cornet  and  one  of 
the  royal  officers,  which  established  the  recognition  of  the 
cartel. 

The  court,  meanwhile,  experienced  a  check  in  Norman- 
dy. The  Count  d'Harcourt  had  been  recalled  from  Spain, 
to  take  possession  of  Rouen  in  the  name  of  the  king,  and  to 
replace  the  Duke  de  Longueville  in  his  government;  but 
the  parliament  of  the  city,  wrought  upon  by  M.  de  Longue- 
ville, and  following  the  example  of  that  of  Paris,  closed  their 
gates  against  M.  d'Harcourt;  and,  as  the  count  had  gone 
thither  without  either  money  or  troops,  the  only  levers  by 

*  Louis  de  la  Tremouille,  Count  d'Olonne,  was  born  in  1626,  was  at 
the  battle  of  Nordlinguin,  in  1645,  commanded  the  light-horse  at  the  ma- 
jority of  Louis  XIV.,  and  died,  in  1686,  without  issue.  He  married,  in 
1652,  Catherine  Henrietta  d'Angennes,  a  relative  of  the  wile  of  the 
Marshal  de  la  Ferte ;  and  the  Countess  d'Olonne,  who  died  in  1714,  ac- 
quired a  scandalous  notoriety  by  the  laxity  of  her  conduct.  This  branch 
of  the  Tremouille  family  became  extinct  in  1690,  in  the  person  of  a 
brother  of  the  Count  d'Olonne,  whose  daughter  conveyed  the  heredi- 
tary estates  to  the  Montmorencvs. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  251 

which  gates  may  be  either  forced  or  opened,  he  was  com- 
pelled to  retire. 

All  these  events  gave  new  courage  to  the  besieged  Paris- 
ians, who  began  to  make  sallies,  carrying  with  them  flags 
on  which  were  inscribed,  "  We  are  looking  for  our  king." 
On  the  first  sortie  they  made  with  this  extraordinary  device 
they  captured  a  drove  of  pigs,  which  they  impelled  tri- 
umphantly through  the  gates  ;  and  this  absurd  adventure 
afforded  ample  mirth  alike  to  the  court  and  to  the  forces 
of  the  Fronde. 

Ere  long,  skirmishes  between  the  two  factions  became  of 
almost  daily  occurrence.  The  Duke  de  Beaufort  marched 
out  of  the  city  to  give  battle  to  the  Marshal  de  Grammont, 
but  returned  with  the  intelligence  that  the  marshal  had  de- 
clined the  challenge ;  a  fact  which  was  almost  equivalent  to 
a  victory.  This  advantage  was,  however,  speedily  com- 
pensated by  a  check  experienced  by  the  Chevalier  de 
Sevigne,  who  commanded  a  regiment  raised  by  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Corinth.  On  this  occasion  the  defeat  of  the  new 
recruits  was  complete,  and  the  encounter  was  called  "the 
first  of  the  Corinthians."  Compensation  even  for  this  mis- 
fortune was,  nevertheless,  afforded  by  the  recapture  of  Cha- 
renton,  which  had  been  abandoned  by  the  Prince  de  Conde, 
and  which  the  Frondeurs  strengthened  with  some  pieces 
of  artillery.  But,  as  if  the  whole  of  the  war  was  to  resem- 
ble a  game  of  chess,  the  Marquis  de  Vitry  was  attacked 
near  Vincennes  by  two  squadrons  of  German  cavalry,  who 
killed  twenty  of  his  men;  and  he  was  compelled  to  retreat, 
leaving  on  the  field  the  gallant  young  Tancrede  de  Rohan, 
mortally  wounded. 

The  character  of  this  brave  youth  was  consistent  to  the 
last ;  feeling  that  his  condition  was  beyond  hope,  he  would 
never  reveal  his  name,  and  persisted  in  speaking  Dutch  till 
he  died  ;  but  as  the  enemy,  nevertheless,  suspected  that  he 
was  a  person  of  distinction,  his  body  was  exposed,  in  order 
that  it  might  be  identified ;  and  it  was  by  these  means  that 


258  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

the  Duchess  de  Rohan  was  apprised  of  his  death,  of  which 
the  news  reached  her  at  Romorantin,  where  she  had  re- 
tired. 

The  Prince  de  Conde  began,  after  a  time,  to  weary  of  this 
futile  and  profitless  war,  and  resolved  to  apply  himself 
seriously  to  its  termination.  He  accordingly  suffered  the 
Frondeurs  to  fortify  Charenton,  and  gave  them  time  to 
garrison  the  place  with  three  thousand  men ;  after  which  he 
determined  to  take  it.  On  the  evening  of  the  7th  of  Feb- 
ruary, M.  de  Chanleu,  who  commanded  the  post,  received 
intelligence  that  the  Duke  d'Orleans  and  the  Prince 
de  Conde  were  marching  upon  him  at  the  head  of  seven  or 
eight  thousand  infantry,  four  thousand  calvary,  and  a  bri- 
gade of  artillery ;  and  he  immediately  sent  to  inform  the 
Prince  de  Conti  of  the  fact,  and  to  request  his  orders.  A 
council  was  held  by  the  bedside  of  the  Duke  de  Bouillon, 
who  was  again  confined  with  the  gout,  and  who,  consider- 
ing the  place  untenable,  advised  that  Chanleu  and  his  men 
should  march  out,  only  leaving  a  detachment  to  defend  the 
bridge.  M.  d'Elbceuf,  however,  wTho  was  partial  to  Chan- 
leu, and  wished  to  give  him  this  opportunity  of  distinguish- 
ing himself,  was  of  a  contrary  opinion,  and  he  was  second- 
ed by  the  Duke  de  Beaufort  and  the  Marshal  de  la  Motte. 
M.  de  Chanleu  was  accordingly  directed  to  defend  himself 
to  the  utmost,  with  a  promise  that  he  should  receive  help 
from  the  garrison  of  Paris  ;  but  although  the  troops  began 
to  march  out  at  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  they  were  not  in 
the  field  until  eight  on  the  following  morning.  It  was  then 
too  late.  At  daybreak  the  prince  had  attacked  Charen- 
ton ;  and  the  engagement  had  scarcely  commenced  when 
Gaspard  de  Coligny,  Duke  de  Chatillon,  received  a  ball 
through  his  body,  and  fell.  The  Prince  de  Conde  imme- 
diately took  his  place,  and  flung  himself  into  the  intrench- 
ments,  where  the  brave  Chanleu  was  killed  ;  but  Charenton 
passed  once  more  into  the  hands  of  the  Royalists.  On  the 
following  day  the  Duke  de  Chatillon  expired,  holding  in 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  259 

his  hand  the  marshal's  baton  which  Anne  of  Austria  had 
forwarded  to  him  only  an  hour  previously. 

Favored  by  this  engagement,  the  Marquis  de  Noirmou- 
tier,  at  the  head  of  a  thousand  horse,  left  Paris  unperceived, 
in  order  to  meet  a  convoy  which  was  arriving  from 
Etampes ;  and  as  on  the  second  day  he  did  not  return,  the 
Duke  de  Beaufort  and  M.  de  la  Motte  sallied  forth  in  their 
turn  to  cover  his  retreat ;  but  in  the  plain  of  Ville-Juif  they 
found  the  Marshal  de  Grammontwith  two  thousand  infantry, 
Swiss  and  French  guards,  and  two  thousand  horse  ;  the 
latter  commanded  by  Charles  de  Beauvau,  Seigneur  of 
Nerlieu,  one  of  the  bravest  nobles  of  the  royal  army,  who 
had  no  sooner  recognized  the  regiment  of  the  Duke  de 
Beaufort  than  he  charged  it.  At  the  first  fire  Nerlieu  fell 
dead  ;  but  the  engagement,  nevertheless,  continued  with  such 
fury  that  M.  de  Beaufort,  while  fighting  breast  to  breast 
with  an  adversary,  had  his  sword  wrested  from  his  grasp ; 
the  Marshal  de  la  Motte  coming  to  his  assistance,  however, 
at  that  precise  moment,  the  Mazarins  were  compelled  to 
give  way.  Shortly  afterward  the  convoy  appeared  in 
sight,  but  the  marshal  would  not  farther  pursue  his  advan- 
tage, declaring  that  the  enemy  would  be  sufficiently  beaten 
if  he  could  succeed  in  securing  its  entrance  into  Paris  ;  and 
he  did  so  without  difficulty,  under  an  escort  of  nearly  a 
hundred  thousand  men,  who  had  taken  up  arms  on  hearing 
that  the  Duke  de  Beaufort  was  engaged  with  the  enemy. 

The  day  but  one  following,  the  commander  of  the  Porte 
St.  Honore  apprised  the  parliament  that  a  herald,  clad  in 
complete  armor,  and  preceded  by  two  trumpeters,  de- 
manded admittance.  He  was  the  bearer  of  three  letters, 
one  for  the  parliament,  one  for  the  Prince  de  Conti,  and 
the  third  for  the  municipal  magistrates.  This  intelligence 
caused  great  excitement ;  but,  prompted  by  the  cardinal, 
the  councilor  Broussel  rose  and  said  that  heralds  were  only 
habitually  sent  to  equals  or  to  enemies,  and  that,  conse- 
quently, as  the  parliament  were  not  either  the  equals  or  the 


OtfO  LOUIS     XIV.      A  N  D 

enemies  of  the  king,  they  could  not  receive  his  herald. 
This  declaration,  subtil  as  it  was,  elicited  great  applause ; 
and  it  was  decided  that  a  deputation  should  wait  upon  the 
sovereign,  to  ascertain  what  overtures  he  desired  to  make 
to  the  parliament ;  after  which  the  herald  was  dispatched 
on  his  return  with  a  request  that  safe  conduct  should  be 
given  to  the  deputation.  On  the  second  day  the  surety  ar- 
rived, and  the  deputation  left  the  city. 

These,  however,  were  only  the  public  measures  of  the 
court ;  for,  while  the  deputies  were  on  their  way  to  St. 
Germain,  M.  de  Flamarens  arrived  in  Paris,  ostensibly  to 
offer  a  compliment  of  condolence  from  the  Duke  d'Orleans 
to  the  Queen  of  England  on  the  death  of  her  husband,  the 
intelligence  of  whose  execution  had  reached  the  court  only 
three  or  four  days  previously ;  and  during  his  residence  in 
the  city  he  paid  a  visit  to  the  Prince  de  Marsillac,  who  had 
been  wounded  in  a  skirmish  at  Brie-Comte-Robert,*  and 
who  began  to  be  tired  of  this  petty  warfare,  to  tender,  on 
the  authority  of  the  Abbe  de  la  Riviere,  certain  secret  prop- 
ositions to  the  rebel  leaders.  In  the  first  place  they  offered 
to  the  prince  himself  a  seat  in  the  council,  and  a  fortress 
in  Champagne,  on  condition  that  he  would  cede  to  La  Riviere 
the  contested  cardinal's  hat,  for  which  M.  de  Conti  had, 
personally,  no  ambition,  as  he  desired  beyond  all  else  to 
abandon  the  profession  of  the  church.  To  M.  de  Longue- 
ville,  who  was  engaged  to  bring  succor  to  Paris  from  Rouen, 
they  proposed,  in  the  event  of  his  delaying  this  succor,  to 
give  him,  in  addition  to  the  governments  which  he  already 
held,  that  of  Pont-de-l'Arche,  and  a  place  at  court ;  engag- 

*  It  was  on  the  occasion  of  this  engagement,  that  the  Count  de 
Bussy-Rabutin,  then  serving  in  the  royal  army,  wrote  to  Madame  de 
Sevigne :  "  I  have  just  returned  from  our  expedition  of  Brie-Robert  as 
tired  as  a  dog.  For  eight  days  I  have  not  taken  off  my  clothes.  We 
are  your  masters,  but,  it  must  be  confessed,  not  without  difficulty.  The 
war  of  Paris  begins  to  weary  me.  If  you  do  not  soon  die  from  hunger, 
we  shall  from  fatigue.  Surrender  to  us,  or  we  must  soon  do  so  to  you.'' 
It  will  have  been  remarked  that  M.  de  Sevigne  had  joined  the  Fronde. 


THE     COURT      OF     FRANCE.  261 

ing,  moreover,  to  terminate  definitively  with  M.  de  Bouillon 
the  purchase  of  the  city  of  Sedan,  which  had  been  so  long 
a  time  in  abeyance.  All  these  promises,  superadded  to 
the  gracious  words  in  which  the  queen  had  expressed  them, 
combined  with  the  arrival  of  a  Spanish  agent,  authorized 
to  propose  the  mediation  of  the  Aichduke  Leopold,  who, 
as  he  wrote,  "  would  not  again  treat  with  the  cardinal,  but 
with  the  parliament,"  produced  a  species  of  truce,  during 
which  a  hundred  barrels  of  wheat  were  to  enter  Paris 
daily,  and  conferences  to  take  place  at  Ruel. 

Three  days  subsequently  these  conferences  commenced ; 
and  while  they  were  proceeding  two  startling  pieces  of  in- 
telligence reached  the  parliament :  first,  that  M.  de  Longue- 
ville  was  on  his  march  to  Paris  with  ten  thousand  men 
from  Rouen,  for  the  service  of  the  capital ;  and,  secondly, 
that  M.  de  Turenne  had  declared  for  the  parliament.  Upon 
the  strength  of  this  important  news  they  immediately  wrote 
to  their  plenipotentiaries  to  maintain  their  ground  firmly  ; 
but  the  latter,  seeing  on  one  side  the  Duke  d'Orleans  exas- 
perated, and  the  Prince  de  Conde  menacing,  and  on  the 
other  the  people  excited,  and  the  parliament  resolved  to 
push  matters  to  extremity,  with,  moreover,  Spain  ready 
to  profit  by  the  intestinal  divisions  of  the  kingdom,  took 
upon  themselves  to  sign  a  treaty  without  further  delay ; 
and,  accordingly,  fourteen  articles  were  agreed  upon  and 
signed,  which  went  to  nullify  all  proceedings  on  both  sides 
since  the  commencement  of  hostilities.  There  was,  how- 
ever, one  small  defect  in  this  treaty,  which  was  so  hur- 
riedly drawn  up  that  private  interests  had  been  altogether 
overlooked  ;  and,  after  a  stormy  meeting  of  the  parliament, 
it  was  decided  that  a  second  deputation  should  be  sent  to 
court,  in  order  to  secure  the  claims  of  the  generals  upon  a 
solid  basis. 

These  generals  were  the  Prince  de  Conti,  the  Duke  d'El- 
bceuf,  the  Duke  de  Bouillon,  the  Duke  de  Beaufort,  the 
Duke  de  Longuevillc,  and  the  Marshal  de  la  Motte  Houdan- 


262  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

court.  Something  also,  it  was  resolved,  must  be  done  for  the 
Marshal  de  Turenne,  who,  although  he  had  been  tardy  in 
his  adhesion  to  the  faction,  had  nevertheless,  ultimately 
decided  in  its  favor. 

Thus — and  no  circumstance  throughout  the  whole  reign 
of  Louis  XIV.  serves,  perhaps,  more  fully  to  expose  the 
venality  and  the  shamelessness  of  the  time — these  private 
stipulations  were  inserted  in  the  general  treaty,  and  publicly 
discussed  ! 

The  Prince  de  Conti  obtained  Danevilliers.  The  Duke 
d'Elbceuf  the  payment  of  moneys  due  to  his  wife,  and  a  hun- 
dred thousand  livres  for  his  eldest  son.  The  Duke  de  Beau- 
fort, his  return  to  court,  the  full  pardon  of  all  persons  who 
had  assisted  him  to  escape,  the  restoration  of  the  pensions 
granted  to  the  Duke  de  Vendome,  his  father;  and  an  indem- 
nity for  his  houses  and  castles  which  the  parliament  of  Brit- 
tany had  caused  to  be  demolished.  The  Duke  de  Bouillon, 
domains  of  equal  value  with  the  estimate  which  might  be 
made  of  Sedan,  an  indemnity  for  the  non-enjoyment  of  his 
principality,  and  the  title  of  Prince  to  be  granted  to  him 
and  his  descendants.  The  Duke  de  Longueville,  the  gov- 
ernment of  Pont-de-1'Arche.  The  Marshal  de  la  Motte 
Houdancourt,  two  hundred  thousand  silver  livres,  without 
prejudice  to  any  other  favors  which  it  might  please  the 
king  to  accord  him.  And,  finally,  as  the  forces  in  Germany 
were  about  to  be  suppressed,  the  Marshal  de  Turenne  was 
to  be  employed  according  to  the  esteem  due  to  his  person 
and  services. 

These  new  conditions  conceded,  a  peace  supervened ; 
and  on  the  5th  of  April  a  Te  Deum  was  chanted  with  great 
pomp  at  Notre-Dame,  on  which  occasion  the  French  guards 
and  the  king's  Switzers  reappeared  as  the  representatives 
of  absent  royalty.* 

Thus  terminated  the  first  act  of  the  most  singular,  boot- 
less, and,  we  are  almost  tempted  to  add,  burlesque  war, 
*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  263 

which,  in  all  probability,  E  urope  ever  witnessed.  Through- 
out its  whole  duration  society  appeared  to  have  been  smit- 
ten with  some  moral  hallucination.  Kings  and  cardinals 
slept  on  matresses ;  princesses  and  duchesses  on  straw ; 
market-women  embraced  princes ;  prelates  governed  ar- 
mies ;  court  ladies  led  the  mob ;  and  the  mob,  in  its  turn, 
ruled  the  city.  The  infant  son  of  a  prince  of  the  blood, 
born  during  the  revolt,  was  presented  at  the  baptismal  font 
by  a  municipal  magistrate  ;*  a  citizen  court  was  held  at  the 
Town-Hall ;  and  an  exiled  queen  was  left  to  starve  in  the 
palace  of  the  Louvre. 

t  Madame  de  Longueville  gave  birth  to  a  eon  during  her  residence 
at  the  Town-Hall,  who  received  the  incongruous  names  of  Charles-Paris- 
Orleans. 


.o ' 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Return  of  the  royal  Fugitives — Reluctance  of  the  Queen  and  her  Minis- 
ter— Mademoiselle*  de  Chevreuse — Mademoiselle  and  Henrietta  of 
England — The  Duke  of  York — Return  of  Monsieur  to  Blois — The 
Duke  de  Beaufort  and  Madame  de  Montbazon — The  Court  at  Com- 
piegne — Mademoiselle  and  Charles  II. — Egotism  of  Mademoiselle — 
Character  of  the  Prince  de  Conde — Ambitious  Projects  of  Madame 
de  Longueville — Disaffection  of  Conde — Libelous  Publications — Res- 
cue of  the  Printers — Altercation  between  the  Duke  de  Beaufort  and 
the  Marquis  de  Jarze — Arrival  of  Charles  II. — Reconciliation  of  the 
Queen-Regent  and  Conde — The  Coadjutor  at  Compiegne — Reception 
of  Madame  de  Chevreuse — Entry  of  the  King  and  Queen  in  Paris — 
Popularity  of  Mazarin — The  Duke  de  Beaufort  at  the  Palais-Royal — 
Death  of  the  Empress  of  Germany — Renewed  Hopes  of  Mademoiselle 
—The  Courtship  of  Charles  II.— Illness  of  Mademoiselle— Confirma- 
tion of  the  young  Princes. 

Mademoiselle  was  one  of  the  first  of  the  fugitives  who 
returned  to  Paris  after  the  conclusion  of  the  peace,  for 
neither  the  queen  nor  the  cardinal  were  in  any  haste  to 
throw  themselves  into  the  midst  of  the  shower  of  insulting 
pamphlets,  pasquinades,  and   epigrams  which  were   daily 


LOUIS     XIV.     AND     THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.     265 

pouring  upon  them.  Nor  was  the  capital  by  any  means 
so  loyal  as  at  the  first  glance  it  might  appear  to  be.  There 
was  no  longer  any  open  rebellion,  it  is  true ;  but  the  reverse 
of  the  cards  bore  nearly  the  same  impress  as  ever.  The 
Duke  de  Beaufort  was  still  the  king  of  the  markets,  and 
the  hero  of  the  market-women  ;  those  formidable  Dames  de 
la  Halle  who  have,  at  every  outbreak  in  the  French  metrop- 
olis, played  so  prominent  and  so  extraordinary  a  part ;  the 
coadjutor,  the  only  leader  of  the  Fronde  who  asked  nothing 
for  himself  either  privately  or  by  treaty,  was  possessed  of 
unbounded  popularity ;  Madame  de  Longueville  had  merely 
removed  her  court  from  the  Town-Hall  to  her  own  hotel, 
where  her  grace,  her  beauty,  and  her  wit  retained  about  her 
not  only  her  political  adorers,  but  attracted  to  her  shrine  all 
that  was  noblest  and  most  intellectual  in  the  capital ;  while 
Madame  de  Chevreuse  had  returned  to  the  Hdtelde  Luynes, 
substituting  for  her  own  beauty,  which  was  now  consid- 
drably  on  the  wane,  that  of  her  young  and  lovely  daugh- 
ter, at  that  period  in  the  full  zenith  of  her  charms,  and 
whose  extreme  intimacy  with  M.  de  Retz  had  already  given 
rise  to  rumors  which  affected  her  reputation ;  and  amid 
all  this,  the  whole  city  fronded  more  than  ever ;  for  the 
Fronde  had  now  ceased  to  be  a  faction,  and  had  become  a 
fashion.  • 

Mademoiselle  was  then,  as  we  have  stated,  the  first  to 
return  to  Paris.  Not,  as  she  declares,  because  she  was  weary 
of  St.  Germain,  where,  on  the  contrary,  she  was  very  happy, 
and  would  have  liked  to  remain  all  her  life,  but  because 
she  was  anxious  to  pay  her  respects  to  the  Queen  of  Eng- 
land, and  to  offer  her  condolences  on  the  death  of  her 
royal  husband ;  for  whom,  she  says,  the  court  had  never 
gone  properly  into  mourning,  wearing  black  only  upon 
their  persons,  but  making  no  alterations  in  their  equipages, 
"  for  want  of  money."  Having  received  the  permission  of 
the  regent  and  Monsieur,  she  accordingly  proceeded  to  the 
capital,  accompanied  by  Madame  de  Carigan,  for  whom 

vol.  r. — M 


266  LOUIS    XIV.     AND 

she  had  a  great  affection;*  and  they  alighted  at  the  Louvre. 
•'  I  .lid  not  find  the  Queen  of  England,"  she  pursues,  "  so 
deeply  affected  as  she  should  have  been  from  the  regard 
which  the  king  her  husband  had  for  her,  and  the  rather  as 
he  had  always  behaved  perfectly  well  toward  her ;  for  she 
was  mistress  of  every  thing:  the  manner  of  his  death 
ought  also  to  have  added  considerably  to  her  affliction. 
For  my  own  part,  I  think  that  it  was  strength  of  mind 
which  enabled  her  to  appear  so  calm."  The  queen  had 
with  her  the  Duke  of  York,  her  second  son,  who  had  just 
arrived  from  Holland,  where  he  had  resided  with  his  sister, 
the  Princess  of  Orange,  since  the  time  that  he  escaped 
from  his  prison  in  England,  where  he  was  confined  for  a 
considerable  period.  He  was  then  about  fourteen  years 
old,  very  handsome,  well-grown,  and  fair,  and  spoke  the 
French  language  fluently. 

On  her  return  to  St.  Germain,  Mademoiselle  was  closely 
questioned  by  the  regent  as  to  what  she  had  seen  and  heard 
in  the  capital ;  of  all  which  she  gave  a  precise  account  ; 
and  shortly  afterward  the  palace  of  St.  Germain  became 
thronged  with  guests,  all  the  principal  actors  in  the  Fronde 
having  hastened  to  salute  Their  Majesties,  except  the  Duke 
de  Beaufort  and  the  coadjutor.  M.  de  Vendome,  who, 
thanks  to  the  treaties,  had  been  recalled  from  his  exile, 
and  his  eldest  son,  the  Duke  de  Mercceur,  had  taken  up 
their  residence  at  court;  and  a  report  soon  spread  that 
M.  de  Mercceur  was  soon  to  give  his  hand  to  Victoria 
Mancini,  the  elder  of  the  three  sisters ;  "  a  thing,"  says  a 
modern  author,  "so  apparently  impossible  that  every  one 
believed  it." 

At  this  period  the  Duke  d'Orleans,  in  his  turn,  visited 

"  The  society  of  Madame  de  Carignau  was  very  agreeable  to  me, 
tor  she  was  infinitely  witty,  although  she  had  little  good  sense ;  no  one 
lied  with  more  grace ;  and  her  falsehoods,  although  improbable,  always 
amused  me.  She  was  the  sister  of  the  Count  de  Soissons."— Mimoires 
de  Mademoiselle  de  Moidpensier 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  267 

Paris ;  but  after  a  brief  sojourn,  retired  once  more  to  his 
retreat  at  Blois ;  while  Mademoiselle,  having  had  an  in- 
terview with  Mademoiselle  de  Chevreuse,  who,  with  her 
mother,  had  been  residing  at  the  court  of  Flanders  pre- 
viously to  their  recall  to  France,  became  again  infatuated 
with  the  idea  of  marriage,  and  readily  listened  to  the  de- 
sire of  the  archduke  to  win  her  hand,  and  the  almost  cer- 
tainty which  existed  that  he  would  be  created  a  sovereign 
prince,  like  the  Archduke  Albert. 

During  the  revolt  in  Paris,  the  Duke  de  Beaufort  had 
paid  his  court  to  Mademoiselle  de  Longueville,  who  was  a 
wealthy  heiress  through  her  mother,  who  had  been  a  Bour- 
bon, and  the  sister  of  the  former  Count  de  Soissons,  de- 
ceased without  issue.  Thus  no  one  was  surprised  at  his 
devotion ;  the  only  astonishment  which  the  affair  elicited 
was  that  Madame  de  Montbazon*  would  permit  it ;  as  be- 
ing very  beautiful,  and  constantly  in  his  society,  there  was 
a  general  impression  that  she  looked  forward  to  becoming 
his  wife  at  the  death  of  her  own  husband.     But  the  duke 

*  "  Madame  de  Montbazon  was  very  beautiful ;  but  modesty  was 
■wanting  to  her  attractions.  Her  haughtiness  and  flippancy  would, 
during  a  period  of  less  agitation,  have  been  an  equivalent  for  her  want 
of  intellect.  She  had  little  good  faith  in  matters  of  gallantry,  and  none 
at  all  in  politics.  She  loved  nothing  but  pleasure,  save,  indeed,  profit, 
which  she  preferred.  I  never  saw  any  one  who,  even  amid  vice,  had 
preserved  so  little  respect  for  virtue." — Mimoires  du  Cardinal  du  Retz. 

This  lady  was  the  person  who,  receiving  from  the  Marchioness  de  la 
Baume,  a  surreptitiously-obtained  copy  of  Bussy-Rabutiu's  celebrated 
"  Histoire  Amoureuse  des  Gaules,"  put  it  it  into  the  hands  of  the  print- 
er ;  in  revenge  for  which  perfidy,  the  caustic  count,  who  had  been  upon 
discreditable  terms  with  her,  caused  to  be  inscribed  beneath  her  por- 
trait, which  was  in  his  possession : 

"  CECILIA, 

ISABELLA    HURANT    DE    CHEVERXY, 

MARCHIONESS    DE    MONGLAS, 

WHO,    BY    HER    INCONSTANCY, 

HAS    RESTORED    TO    HONOR    THE    MATRON    OF    EPHESUS, 

AND    THE    WIVES    OF    ASTOLPHUS    AND    JACONDUS." 


268  LUUIS     XIV.     AND 

also  sedulously  cultivated  the  good  graces  of  Mademoiselle 
de  Chevreuse  ;  and  as  she  was,  like  Madamoiselle  de  Longue- 
ville,  very  handsome,  and  a  rich  heiress,  many  thought 
that  he  would  demand  her  hand  in  marriage.  Being  con- 
sidered an  eligible  suitor,  all  the  princesses  felt  an  interest 
in  his  establishment ;  Madame  de  Nemours*  was  anxious 
for  it;  Mademoiselle  de  Longueville  desired  it  for  the  ad- 
vantage of  her  brother,  and  for  fear  he  should  ultimately 
marry  Madame  de  Montbazon ;  and  Mademoiselle  herself 
was  taking  an  active  part  in  the  intrigue,  when  the  regent 
once  more  summoned  her  to  court,  to  attend  her  on  a  jour- 
ney which  she  was  about  to  undertake  with  the  young  prin- 
ces to  Compiegne ;  while  the  Prince  de  Conde  and  the 
cardinal  advanced  to  La  Fere  to  review  the  troops  which 
were  shortly  to  march  for  Flanders. 

During  the  sojourn  of  the  court  at  Compiegne,  the  unfor- 
tunate Charles  II.,  who  was  dividing  his  time  between 
Holland  and  Jersey,  wrote  to  request  permission  of  the 
king  and  the  regent  to  visit  France  ;  upon  which  the  queen, 
Monsieur,  and  the  cardinal  urged  Mademoiselle  to  give 
him  her  hand,  assuring  her  that  France  should  afford  him 
powerful  protection  ;  that  he  had  already  acquired  several 
allies ;  that  there  were  even  yet  provinces  which  had  re- 
mained faithful  to  him  ;  and  that  he  was  master  of  the  en- 
tire kingdom  of  Ireland.  Thus  urged,  Mademoiselle, 
designing  her  late  dream  of  the  archduke,  replied  to  the 
regent  (who  confided  to  her  that  the  Queen  of  England 
had  declared  her  son  to  be  passionately  enamored  of  her 
person,  and  that  he  desired  nothing  so  much  as  to  make  her 
his  wife),  that  although  the  position  of  the  king  would  not 
permit  him  to  afford  such  assistance  to  the  English  monarch 
as  would  suffice  to  replace  him  on  the  throne,  she  was, 

*  Mary  d'Orleans,  daughter  of  the  Duke  de  Longueville,  and  wife 
of  Henry  de  Savoie,  the  last  Duke  de  Nemours,  who  died  without  issue 
in  1659.  She  was  born  in  1625,  and  died  in  1707,  leaving  behind  her 
some  authentic  and  playfully-written  Memoirs. 


THE     COURT     OF     PRANCE.  2G9 

nevertheless,  ready  to  obey  Her  Majesty  and  Monsieur  in  all 
that  they  might  command. 

Lord  Germain  then  informed  her  that  he  was  immedi- 
ately  about  to  return   to  Holland   to   escort   Charles    to 
France  ;  and  demanded  a  positive  reply,  because  the  affairs 
of  his  kingdom  required  his  prompt  appearance  in  Ireland; 
adding,  that  should  she  accept  his  proposal,  the  king  would 
come  to  court,  where  he  would  remain  two  days,  make 
her  his  wife,  and  after  spending  two  other  days  in  the  royal 
circle,  in  order  to  afford  her  the  privilege  of  taking  prece- 
dence of  the  regent  (as  was  usual  on  the  occasion  of  royal 
marriages),  conduct  her  to  St.  Germain,  where  the  Queen 
of  England  had  resumed  her  residence ;    after  which    he 
would  depart  for  Ireland ;  while  she  should  be  permitted, 
if  she  desired  it,  to  reside  in  Paris,  as  she  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  do.     To  this  proposal  Mademoiselle  replied  that 
the  last  condition  was  impossible ;  that  she  was  willing  to 
accompany  the  king  to  Ireland,  should  he  wish  it,  or  to 
reside  with  the  queen  his  mother,  or  even  to  retire  to  one 
of  her  estates  ;  but  that  she  should  not  consider  it  seemly  to 
remain  in  the  gay  world  while  the  king  was  at  the  head  of 
his  army ;  nor  to  incur  the  expenses  which  a  person  of  her 
rank  must  inevitably  do  in  such  a  position,  when  it  would 
be  her  duty  to  make  every  exertion  to  afford  him  assist- 
ance ;  that  she  could  not  divest  herself  of  great  anxiety 
while  seeing  him  engaged  in  such  a  war  ;  and  that,  in  short, 
if  she  became  his  wife,  she  must  sooner  or  later  make  reso- 
lutions much  more  difficult  of  accomplishment,  and  was 
quite  aware  that   it   would  be  necessary  for  her  to  dis- 
pose of   all  her  property  to  reconquer   his  kingdom  ;  all 
which  reflections,  she  confessed,  alarmed  her  a  little,  reared 
as  she  had  been  in  opulence  and  luxury. 

To  this  sententious  address  the  English  envoy  replied, 
in  his  turn,  that  all  the  remarks  of  Mademoiselle  were  un- 
doubtedly just ;  but  that  he  would  venture  to  remind  her  that 
there  was  no  other  suitable  match  for  her  in  Europe ;  that 


070  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

the  Emperor  of  Germany  and  the  King  of  Spain  were  both 
married;  that  the  King  of  Hungary  was  about  to  espouse 
the  Spanish  Infanta;  that  as  regarded  the  archduke,  he 
would  assuredly  never  be  sovereign  of  the  Low  Countries  ; 
that  she  had  declined  to  accept  the  sovereigns  of  Germany 
and  Italy ;  and  that  in  France  both  the  king  and  Monsei- 
gncur  were  too  young  to  marry  ;  while  the  Prince  de  Conde 
had  been  settled  for  the  last  ten  years,  and  his  wife  was  in 
excellent  health. 

To  this  last  piece  of  information  the  granddaughter  of 
Henry  IV.  responded  by  one  of  those  extraordinarily 
coarse  replies  which  would  be  inadmissible  at  this  period 
from  the  lips  of  any  woman,  and  far  more  from  those  of 
an  unmarried  princess ;  and  ultimately,  after  several  more 
arguments  on  the  part  of  Lord  Germain,  Mademoiselle 
finally  remarked,  that  should  Monsieur  wish  her  to  marry 
the  King  of  England,  and  feel  that  the  alliance  was  inevita- 
ble, she  should  prefer  to  give  him  her  hand  while  he  was 
unfortunate,  because  under  such  circumstances  he  would 
feel  the  obligation  he  had  incurred  toward  her  ;  and  when 
restored  to  his  throne,  would  consider  her  as  the  main  cause 
of  his  success,  through  the  assistance  which  he  would  have 
received  from  her  family.* 

On  the  morrow  the  court  proceeded  to  Amiens,  where 
Lord  Germain  followed  it,  in  order  to  have  another  inter- 
view with  Mademoiselle  ;  who,  in  reply  to  his  extreme  ur- 
gency, informed  him  that  she  had  a  profound  respect  for 
the  Queen  of  England  ;  and,  if  she  might  venture  to  say  so, 
an  equal  affection  ;  that  for  her  sake  she  was  ready  to  over- 
look all  the  disadvantages  of  her  son's  position;  but  that 
his  religion  was  an  obstacle  which  she  could  not  surmount ; 
and  consequently,  if  His  Majesty  had  any  regard  for  her, 
he  would  remove  this  difficulty,  as  she  had  made  so  many 
sacrifices  on  her  side  :  but  the  envoy  at  once  discouraged 
such  an  idea,  by  frankly  declaring  that  the  situation  of  the 
*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  271 

king  would  not  permit  of  his  changing  his  religious  tenets, 
for  which  he  gave  the  most  satisfactory  reasons ;  alledging, 
in  conclusion,  that  were  he  now  to  become  a  Romanist,  he 
would  exclued  himself  foi'ever  from  the  throne  of  Great 
Britain. 

Mademoiselle  had,  however,  found  a  sufficient  pretext 
for  withholding  a  definite  acceptance  of  his  suit ;  and  she 
herself  states  that  after  she  had  taken  leave  of  Lord  Ger- 
main, the  name  of  the  King  of  England  was  not  even  men- 
tioned  to  her  again  before  the  day  which  preceded  his 
arrival. 

We  have  stated  that  M.  de  Conde  and  the  cardinal  had 
gone  in  company  to  La  Fere  ;  but  the  prince  had  pre- 
viously secured  several  interviews  with  Madame  de  Longue- 
ville  which  produced  a  great  effect  upon  his  mind.  He 
was  a  man  of  considerable  intellect,  and  of  a  lively  imagi- 
nation ;  brave  as  a  lion,  but  fickle,  greedy  of  distinction, 
and  soon  wearied  of  that  which  he  had  secured.  Thus,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-seven  he  had  gained  the  reputation  of  a 
great  general,  and  his  renown  in  arms  rivaled  that  of 
Turenne ;  there  was  little  left  to  acquire  as  a  soldier,  and 
he  was  anxious  to  measure  his  strength  as  a  politician  with 
that  of  some  opponent.  "  The  Prince  de  Conde,"  says  De 
Retz,  "  was  born  a  warrior,  a  thing  which  never  happened 
save  to  himself,  Caesar,  and  Spinola ;  he  has  equalled  the 
first,  and  has  surpassed  the  second.  Intrepidity  is  one  of 
the  least  traits  of  his  character.  Nature  gave  him  an  intel- 
lect as  great  as  his  heart ;  and  fortune,  in  assigning  him  to 
a  warlike  century,  enabled  the  latter  to  display  all  its 
strength,  while  birth,  or  rather  education,  in  a  house  at 
once  attached  and  in  submission  to  the  cabinet,  limited  the 
former  too  narrowly.  He  was  not  imbued  at  a  sufficiently 
early  age  with  those  vast  and  general  maxims  which  are, 
and  constitute,  what  is  called  consistency.  He  had  not 
time  to  acquire  them  of  himself,  because  he  was  forestalled 
in  his  youth  by  the  unforeseen  fall  of  high  interests,  and  by 


272  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

the  habit  of  success.  This  defect  has  been  the  cause  that, 
with  tlic  lea*  bitter  tendencies  in  the  world,  he  has  been 
guilty  of  more  than  one  injustice  ;  that,  with  the  heart  of 
Alexander,  he  has  not  been  exempted,  any  more  than  him, 
of  weakness  ;  that,  with  a  wonderful  mind,  he  has  fallen 
in! (i  imprudences;  that,  having  all  the  great  qualities  of 
Francis  de  Guise,  he  has  not,  on  certain  occasions,  served 
the  state  so  well  as  he  ought  to  have  done ;  while,  having 
all  those  of  Henry  of  the  same  name,  he  has  not  earned 
faction  so  far  as  he  might  have  done.  He  could  not 
render  justice  to  his  own  merit,  which  is  a  defect,  but  one 
which  is  at  once  rare  and  beautiful."* 

Madame  de  Longueville  soon  succeeded  in  making  him 
comprehend  his  position  accurately.  All  those  who  had 
served  against  the  court  were  restored  to  favor,  and  had, 
moreover,  made  then-  own  conditions  before  they  returned 
to  their  allegiance.  He,  on  the  contrary,  had  adhered 
throughout  to  its  interests,  and  had  not  even  obtained  the 
cardinal's  hat,  which  he  was  so  anxious  to  secure  to  his 
brother.  This  was  bad  enough ;  but  to  a  man  jealous  of 
power,  as  he  was,  there  still  remained  something  worse  be- 
hind. His  younger  brother,  feeble,  deformed,  of  bad  ad- 
dress— in  one  word,  neither  a  warrior  nor  a  diplomatist — had 
been,  thanks  to  the  name  he  bore,  appointed  generalissimo 
of  the  Parisian  forces.  For  a  brief  period,  M.  de  Conti, 
with  all  his  disadvantages,  had  been  one  of  the  three  or  four 
individuals  who  had  reigned  in  the  capital  of  France. 
What,  therefore,  might  not  the  prince  himself  have  done 
had  he  filled  the  same  position  ]  How  proud  a  part  might 
he  not  have  enacted  ?  Alike  a  soldier  and  a  man  of  genius, 
it  was  impossible  to  limit  the  range  of  probabilities.  He 
would  assuredly  have  reigned  alone ;  and  who  should  say 
that  the  scepter,  thus  secured  for  an  interval,  could  ever 
have  been  wrested  from  his  grasp  ? 

The  duchess  was  eloquent ;  while  her  favorite  brother, 
*  Memoires  du  Cardinal  de  Retz. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  273 

newly  restored  to  her  confidence  and  affection,  listened  with 
avidity ;  and  Madame  de  Longueville  had  hy  no  means,  even 
at  this  point,  terminated  her  representations.  She  had  felt 
too  fully  and  too  deeply  the  charm  of  her  temporary  regality, 
to  lift  the  tiara  of  popularity  and  power  calmly  from  her 
brow,  and  to  see  it  deposited  upon  its  cushion,  awaiting 
another  hand ;  and  it  was  consequently  with  flashing  eyes 
and  throbbing  pulse  that  she  proceeded  to  remind  him  how 
much  the  projected  alliance  between  the  house  of  Vendome 
and  Mazarin  must  militate  against  his  interests.  M.  de  Beau- 
fort, a  less  accomplished  soldier  than  himself,  but  quite  as 
brave,  and  infinitely  more  popular,  aspired  to  the  post  which 
he  occupied  ;  and  whatever  obstacles  might  have  before  pre- 
sented themselves,  were  about  to  be  rendered  nugatory  by 
the  marriage  of  Victoria  Mancini.  All  these  arguments 
produced  their  effect ;  and  the  result  was,  that  during  his 
sojourn  at  Compiegne,  the  prince  had  been  moody  and  dis- 
contented ;  and  that  when  he  arrived  at  La  Fere  with  the 
cardinal,  he  took  still  less  pains  to  disguise  his  ill-humor; 
which  so  visibly  increased,  that  Mazarin  at  last  grew  weary 
of  the  assumption  of  the  great  captain,  and  lost  temper  in  his 
turn.  This  was  precisely  what  the  prince  desired  :  he  only 
sought  an  opportunity  to  break  with  the  court ;  and  when  things 
had  come  to  this  extremity,  he  did  so  without  hesitation. 

The  Count  d'Harcourt  was  then  recalled  from  the  army 
in  Spain,  and  ordered  to  supersede  M.  de  Conde  in  his 
command  in  Flanders ;  upon  which  the  prince  retired  to  his 
government  of  Burgundy,  thoroughly  disaffected. 

During  this  time  the  pamphlets  to  which  we  have  already 
alluded  pursued  their  course.  Those  which  merely  attack- 
ed the  cardinal  caused  laughter,  and  no  one  interfered  with 
them ;  but  others  which  were  written  against  the  king,  the 
regent,  and  the  church,  occasionally  created  great  uneasi- 
ness. Two  printers  at  this  time  published  works  in  which 
the  queen  was  so  severely  handled,  that  they  were  legally 
pursued.     History  has  preserved  at  once  the  name  of  one 


X>74  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

of  these  printers,  and  of  the  work  which  he  put  forth ;  the 
culprit  was  called  Marlot,  and  the  pamphlet  was  entitled 
"The  Guardian  of  the  Queen's  Bed."  Both  the  delin- 
quents were  put  upon  their  trial,  and  condemned  to  be 
hanged,  and  the  sentence  was  about  to  be  executed,  when 
the  populace  collected  round  the  gibbet.  While  the  cul- 
prit who  was  to  be  the  first  to  suffer  had  the  cord  about  his 
neck,  and  his  foot  upon  the  ladder,  some  one  suddenly  ex- 
claimed that  both  he  and  his  companion  were  about  to  lose 
their  lives  merely  for  having  written  some  verses  against 
Mazarin.  The  mob  caught  at  the  words,  uttered  loud 
shouts  of  fury,  rushed  upon  the  gibbet,  and  earned  off  the 
two  culprits  in  triumph ;  who,  at  the  first  opportunity 
which  presented  itself,  declining  any  further  ovation,  pru- 
dently disappeared. 

Mazarin  was  still  more  safe  at  Compiegne  than  at  Paris. 

All  these  events  greatly  annoyed  the  partisans  of  the  car- 
dinal, who  had  returned  to  Paris ;  and  among  these  was 
the  Marquis  de  Jarze,  who  was  one  of  the  wittiest  men  at 
court,*  and  rivaled  by  his  repartees  and  epigrams  even  An- 
gevin, the  Prince  de  Guimenee,t  and  Bautru  !  J  Resolved 
to  suppress  the  demonstrations  of  enmity  which  were  ex- 
hibited against  his  patron,  Jarze  took  an  opportunity  of  in- 
sinuating that  the  Duke  de  Beaufort  had  purposely  avoided 
a  meeting  with  him  and  his  friends  in  a  public  thorough- 
fare ;  adding,  that  he  would  take  the  wall  of  him  wherever 
they  might  chance  to  meet,  even  should  it  be  within  the 
precincts  of  the  palace.     This  defiance  was  repeated  to  the 

Eerie  Duplessis,  Marquis  de  Jarze,  and  Lord  of  Plessy  Bourre.  He 
was  appointed  Captain  of  the  Royal  Guard  in  1648. 

t  Hercules  de  Rohan,  Prince  de  Guimenee,  Duke  de  Montbazon,  bom 
in  1568. 

I  William  Bautru,  Count  de  Ceran,  born  at  Antwerp  in  1588,  died 
hi  1663.  He  was  one  of  the  wits  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  French  Academy.  He  was  also  one  of  the  creatures  of 
Richelieu,  and  afterward  of  Mazarin ;  Grand  Master  of  the  Ceremonies, 
and  Minister-Plenipotentiary  in  Flanders,  Spain,  England,  and  Savoy. 


THE     COURT     OP     FRANCE.  275 

duke ;  and  the  result  was  that  M.  de  Beaufort  went,  ac- 
companied by  a  pajfy  of  his  intimate  associates,  to  a  tavern 
where  Jarze  was  supping  with  the  Duke  de  Caudale,  Le 
Freton,  Fontrailles,  Ruvigny,  the  commanders  of  Jars*  and 
Souvre,  and  some  others  of  their  friends ;  and  he  had  no 
sooner  entered  the  apartment  which  they  occupied  than  he 
seized  one  corner  of  the  table-cloth,  threw  every  thing  on 
the  ground,  and  overturned  the  table.  Swords  were  drawn, 
and  there  was  a  great  tumult,  but  no  one  was  either  killed 
or  wounded. 

The  insulted  party  instantly  resolved  to  challenge  the 
Duke  de  Beaufort,  but  they  were  aware  that  they  could 
not  venture  to  meet  him  and  his  friends  in  Paris,  where  his 
party  was  all-powerful,  and  where  they  would  themselves 
have  incurred  the  risk  of  being  murdered  by  the  fish  women  ; 
and  in  consequence  of  this  fact  they  all  went  in  a  body  to 
St.  Germain,  where  Monsieur  succeeded  with  some  difficul- 
ty in  making  up  the  quarrel.f 

Their  escapade,  however,  nearly  proved  an  obstacle  to 
the  marriage  of  the  Duke  de  Mercceur  and  Victoria  Man- 
cini ;  for  the  cardinal  was  enraged  at  the  insult  which  had 
been  offered  to  his  adherents,  and  declared  that  he  would 
not  give  his  niece  to  the  brother  of  a  man  who  hated  him. 
Such  a  resolution  could  not,  nevertheless,  be  long  entertained 
under  the  circumstances ;  for  Mazarin,  little  as  he  might  be 
inclined  to  avow  it,  was  too  subtil  not  to  feel  the  advan- 
tage which  must  accrue  to  himself  from  an  alliance  with  a 
descendant  of  Henry  IV. 

While  this  absurd  contention  was  engrossing  the  court, 
Charles  II.  had  arrived  at  Peronne,  whence  a  courier  was 
forwarded  to  apprise  Their  Majesties  of  the  fact.  The  queen 
immediately  communicated  the  news  of  his  advent  to  Made- 
moiselle, saying  with  a  smile,  "Your  suitor  is  coming;" 

*  Gabriel  de  Rochechouart,  Duke  de  Mortemart,  Peer  of  France, 
First  Gentleman  of  the  Chamber.     He  died  in  1675. 
t  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montponsier. 


276  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

and  it  is  evident,  notwithstanding  the  disclaimers  of  the 
princess,  that  she  was  greatly  excited  ty  his  reappearance; 
for,  blended  with  the  morgue  and  egotism  of  her  style, 
snatches  of  the  most  extraordinarily  simple  and  straightfor- 
ward frankness  may  be  detected.  In  the  present  instance 
she  says,  with  almost  girlish  unguardedness : — 

Alien  the  Abbe  de  la  Riviere  spoke  to  me  on  the  sub- 
ject, I  told  him  that  I  was  dying  with  anxiety  for  the  En- 
glish king  to  say  soft  things  to  me,  because  I  did  not  yet 
know  what  they  meant,  for  no  one  had  ever  dared  to  ad- 
dress them  to  me ;  not  on  account  of  my  quality,  since 
many  had  been  said  to  queens  of  my  acquaintance,  but  be- 
cause it  was  well  known  that  I  was  not  coquettishly  inclined. 
"  On  the  day  of  his  arrival  we  all  rose  early  to  prepare 
for  him :  he  was  only  to  dine  at  Compiegne,  and  it  was  ne- 
cessary to  set  off  betimes  to  meet  him.  I  had  caused  my 
hair  to  be  curled,  which  I  seldom  did  :  and  as  I  entered  the 
carriage  of  the  queen,  she  exclaimed,  '  It  is  easy  to  distin- 
guish those  who  expect  their  gallants.  How  she  is  dress- 
ed!' I  was  quite  prepared  to  reply  that  those  who  had 
themselves  had  lovers  knew  how  to  act,  and  were  aware  of 
the  trouble  which  it  was  necessary  to  take  in  order  to 
please  them;  and  I  might  even  have  added,  that  as  mine 
was  to  be  my  husband,  I  had  reason  to  be  particular  about 
my  appearance  ;  but  I  did  not  dare  to  say  any  thing.  We 
went  forward  a  league  to  meet  him.  When  he  appeared, 
every  one  alighted;  he  first  saluted  Their  Majesties,  and  then 
myself.  I  thought  him  very  good-looking;  much  more  so 
than  when  he  left  France  ;  and  if  his  intellect  had  appeared 
to  me  to  equal  his  person,  perhaps  he  might  have  pleased 
me  on  that  occasion.  When  he  was  in  the  carriage,  the 
king  questioned  him  about  dogs,  horses,  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  and  the  sport  in  that  country ;  to  all  which  he  an- 
swered in  French.  The  queen  wished  to  have  some  par- 
ticulars of  his  political  position,  but  he  did  not  reply  to  her 
inquiries;  and  when  he  was  asked  at  different  times  to  ex- 


THE     COURT     OF      FRANCE.  277 

plain  several  very  sei-ious  facts  which  wei'e  of  considerable 
importance  to  his  personal  interests,  he  excused  himself 
from  answering,  by  urging  that  he  could  not  speak  our  lan- 
guage. I  own  that,  from  that  moment,  I  resolved  not  to 
conclude  the  marriage  ;  for  I  conceived  a  very  poor  opinion 
of  him,  being  a  king  at  his  age,  and  having  no  knowledge 
of  his  affairs.  As  soon  as  we  arrived,  dinner  was  served 
up.  He  ate  no  ortolans,  but  flung  himself  upon  a  piece  of 
beef  and  a  shoulder  of  mutton,  as  if  there  had  been  nothing 
else  at  table.  After  dinner  the  queen  amused  herself,  and 
left  him  with  me.  He  was  a  quarter  of  an  hour  without 
saying  a  single  word ;  but  I  am  willing  to  believe  that  his 
silence  was  the  result  of  respect  rather  than  of  any  want  of 
passion  ;  though  on  this  occasion  I  frankly  confess  that  I  could 
have  wished  it  to  have  been  somewhat  less  plainly  exhibit- 
ed. As  his  supineness  began  to  weary  me,  I  called  Ma- 
dame de  Comminges  to  my  side,  that  she  might  endeavor  to 
make  him  talk,  in  which  she  fortunately  succeeded.  M.  de 
la  Riviere  shortly  afterward  approached  me,  saying,  '  He 
looked  at  you  during  the  whole  of  the  dinner,  and  is  looking 
at  you  still.'  To  which  T  replied,  '  He  has  plenty  of  time 
to  look  at  me  before  he  will  please  me,  if  he  does  not 
speak.'  '  Ah,'  said  he,  f  you  will  not  admit  that  he  has  said 
sweet  things  to  you.'  '  Pardon  me,'  I  retorted ;  '  come 
near  me  when  he  is  at  my  side,  and  you  will  see  how  he 
sets  about  it.'  When  the  queen  rose  I  approached  the 
King  of  England ;  and,  in  order  to  make  him  talk,  I  in- 
quired for  some  persons  whom  I  had  seen  in  his  suite ;  but 
he  answered  my  questions  without  the  slightest  gallantry. 
When  the  hour  of  his  departure  arrived,  we  got  into  our 
carriages,  and  bore  him  company  to  the  middle  of  the  for- 
est, where  every  one  alighted,  as  they  had  done  on  his  ar- 
rival. He  took  leave  of  the  king,  and  then  approached  me, 
accompanied  by  Lord  Germain,  saying,  '  I  believe  that  my 
Lord  Germain,  who  speaks  French  better  than  I  do,  has 
explained  to  you  my  sentiments  and  my  intention ;  I  am 


278  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

your  very  obedient  servant.'  I  answered  that  I  was  equally 
his  obedient  servant.  Germain  paid  me  a  great  number  of 
compliments;  and,  after  they  were  over,  the  king  bowed 
and  departed."* 

We  consider  this  description  of  the  courtship  of  the 
"  Merry  Monarch"  as  sufficiently  curious  to  afford  its  own 
apology  to  our  readers  for  the  length  of  the  quotation. 

Meanwhile,  much  as  she  detested  the  Prince  de  Conde, 
the  regent  quite  understood  that  she  was  not  strong  enough 
to  dispense  with  his  services.  He  had,  as  we  have  stated, 
declined  the  command  of  the  army  in  the  present  campaign, 
and  had  retired  in  disgust  to  Macon,  in  Burgundy,  the  seat 
of  his  government;  where  he  remained  so  long  that  the 
court  at  last  became  alarmed ;  and  the  queen,  finding  it 
absolutely  necessary  to  temporize,  wrote  him  one  of  those 
autograph  letters  in  which  she  was  such  an  adept  when 
she  had  an  important  point  to  gain,  full  of  tender  profes- 
sions, and  pious  affection.  The  prince  was  not  proof  against 
such  an  attention,  but  prepared  at  once  to  return  to  Com- 
piegne  ;  a  concession  which  so  delighted  the  cardinal,  whose 
nerves  had  been  considerably  shaken  by  the  effects  of  an 
estrangement  of  which  he  was  himself  the  author,  that  he 
went  to  meet  him ;  and  he  was  overwhelmed  on  all  sides 
with  homage  and  attention,  which  was  bestowed  the  more 
lavishly  as  there  was  every  reason  to  apprehend  that  he 
would  be  displeased  with  the  regent  for  having  appointed 
the  Duke  de  Vendome  to  the  rank  of  an  admiral,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  marriage  of  the  cardinal's  niece  with  M.  de 
Mercceur.  The  court  party  flattered  themselves  that  the 
prince  would  be  conciliated  by  fine  words  and  empty  hon- 
ors ;  but  as  he  was  well  aware  that  he  had  nobly  earned 
whatever  distinction  might  be  accorded  to  him,  he  evident- 
ly did  not  feel  himself  under  such  an  obligation  as  they  had 
anticipated. 

The  queen  had  only  awaited  his  arrival  to  negotiate  her 
Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Moutpensier- 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  279 

reentrance  into  Paris;  while  the  coadujutor,  who  considered 
this  reentrance  inevitable,  resolved  to  appropriate  the  merit 
of  it ;  and  accordingly  set  out  for  Compiegne,  alighted  at 
the  door  of  the  palace,  and  while  ascending  the  stair-case, 
aiid  on  the  landing,  met,  as  he  asserts  in  his  Memoir es,  a 
short  man,  dressed  entirely  in  black,  who  slipped  a  paper 
into  his  hand,  upon  which  was  written,  "If  you  enter  the 
house  of  the  king  you  are  a  dead  man."  M.  de  Retz  was 
not,  however,  to  be  deterred  by  an  anonymous  threat,  and 
accordingly  he  put  the  warning  into  his  pocket  and  contin- 
ued his  way. 

The  queen  received  him  admirably,  and  urged  him  sev- 
eral times  to  6ee  the  cardinal ;  but  the  coadjutor,  who  had 
no  wish  to  sacrifice  his  popularity  in  Paris  by  any  such  con- 
cession, resolutely  refused ;  upon  which  the  regent  almost 
lost  her  temper.  M.  de  Retz  remained,  however,  perfectly 
unmoved,  suffered  her  to  say  whatever  she  pleased,  and 
when  she  at  last  ceased  speaking,  merely  replied  that,  from 
the  moment  in  which  he  should  become  reconciled  with 
the  cardinal  all  his  influence  would  be  lost,  and  he  should 
no  longer  be  in  a  position  to  serve  her  interests. 

A  few  days  after  the  visit  of  the  coadjutor,  Madame  de 
Chevreuse  received  permission  to  wait  upon  Anne  of  Aus- 
tria ;  for  she  was  still,  although  not  personally,  yet  as  re- 
garded her  connections,  an  enemy  whom  it  was  necessary 
to  conciliate.  The  duchess  had,  however,  lost  all  confi- 
dence in  her  once  royal  friend ;  and  expressed  so  much  re- 
luctance to  venture  herself  at  court,  that  the  first  president 
ultimately  found  it  necessary  to  pledge  himself  that  she 
should  not  suffer  any  annoyance,  and  his  word  was  re-« 
deemed  by  her  return  in  health  and  safety  ;  but  her  pride 
had  been  stung  by  the  coldness  of  the  welcome  she  had 
received,  which,  although  reaching,  as  it  did,  the  extremest 
limits  of  courtesy,  was  extended  no  further,  while  she  had 
the  mortification  of  being  dismissed  by  the  regent  without 
the  customary  embrace. 


280  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

On  the  morrow  it  was  the  turn  of  the  Prince  de  Conti, 
who  went  to  Compiegne  on  the  pretext  of  seeing  his  broth- 
er •  and  who,  having  been  accidentally  met  by  the  cardinal, 
was  invited  to  dine  with  him;  an  invitation  which  he  at 
once  accepted. 

About  this  time  news  arrived  that  the  Count  d'Harcourt 
had  forced  the  Escaut,*  between  Bouchain  and  Valenci- 
ennes, overcoming  a  body  of  eight  hundred  of  the  enemy's 
horse ;  and  although  this  victory  was  comparatively  of  slen- 
der importance,  it  was  so  well-timed  that  the  queen  resolved 
to  profit  by  the  circumstance  to  return  at  once  to  the  capi- 
tal, which  she  accordingly  did  in  August,  1649,  after  an 
absence  of  six  months.  The  accounts  given  of  this  cere- 
mony differ  greatly  in  spirit,  although  not  in  substance. 
"  The  entry  of  the  king  that  day,"  says  Madame  de  Motte- 
ville,  "  was  an  actual  prodigy,  and  a  great  victory  for  the 
minister.  Never  had  so  dense  a  crowd  followed  the  car- 
riage of  the  sovereign ;  and  it  seemed,  by  the  public  joy, 
as  though  the  past  had  been  a  dream.  The  hated  Maza- 
rin  sat  near  one  of  the  windows  with  the  prince,  and  was 
so  stared  at  by  all  who  followed  the  king,  that  you  would 
have  declared  they  had  never  seen  him  before.  They  said 
to  each  other, '  Thei-e's  Mazarin.'  The  populace,  who  im- 
peded the  carnages  which  could  not  make  way  through 
them,  blessed  the  king  and  queen,  and  spoke  in  praise  of 
Mazarin.  Some  said  he  was  handsome ;  others  held  out 
their  hands,  and  told  him  that  they  loved  him  ;  while  others 
again  declared  that  they  would  go  and  drink  his  health ; 

*  The  Escaut  (formerly  called  the  Scaldis),  the  Scheldt  of  the  Dutch, 
ft  river  belonging  to  France  and  Germany,  takes  its  source  in  France, 
near  the  town  of  Catelet  (Aisne),  traverses  the  Departement  du  Nord, 
passing  by  Cambray,  Valenciennes,  and  Conde ;  and  then  entering  Bel- 
gium, laves  Tournay,  Audenarde,  Ghent,  and  Antwerp.  The  Escaut 
separates,  at  Fort  Lillo,  into  two  branches ;  the  Western  Escaut  (Hond, 
or  Wester-Schelde),  which  throws  itself  into  the  Northern  Ocean,  near 
Flessingua;  and  the  Eastern  Escaut  (Ooster-Schelde),  which  enters 
the  same  sea  near  Helvoetsluys. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  281 

and  at  last,  when  the  queen  had  retired,  they  began  to  make 
bonfires,  and  to  bless  Mazarin  for  having  brought  them  back 
their  king."  * 

"  "  The  court  was  received,"  states  the  Cardinal  de  Retz, 
"  as  kings  have  always  been,  and  always  will  be :  that  is 
to  say,  with  acclamations,  which  signify  little  enough  to  any 
save  those  who  seek  to  delude  themselves.  An  insignifi- 
cant king's  attorney  of  the  chatelet,  who  was  a  sort  of  mad- 
man, hired  twelve  or  fifteen  women,  who  at  the  entrance 
of  the  faubourg  cried,  '  Long  live  His  Eminence  !'  when 
they  saw  Mazarin  in  the  carriage  of  the  king;  and  His 
Eminence  forthwith  believed  that  he  was  master  of  Paris. 
At  the  end  of  four  days,  however,  he  discovered  that  he  had 
fearfully  deceived  himself."  t 

"  The  king  returned  to  Paris,"  writes  Mademoiselle,  in 
her  turn,  "  and  all  the  city  companies  went  as  far  as  St. 
Denis  to  meet  him.  It  was  an  unexampled  confusion  of 
people,  and  I  never  was  so  wearied  in  my  life.  I  was  in 
the  carriage  of  the  queen  ;  it  was  excessively  hot ;  and  we 
were  from  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  to  eight  in  the 
evening  getting  from  Le  Bourget  to  Paris,  although  the 
distance  amounts  only  to  two  short  leagues.  The  cries  of 
'Long  live  the  king!'  were  continuous;  and  the  people 
uttered  them  with  the  more  joy  because  they  had  not  seen 
His  Majesty  for  a  long  time,  and  that  his  return  at  the  con- 
clusion of  a  war  appeared  to  compel  them  to  exhibit  their 
delight  in  a  greater  degree.  Although  it  gave  me  a  good 
deal  of  gratification,  I  was,  nevertheless,  stunned ;  and  had 
a  terrible  headache."  $ 

It  must  be  mentioned,  however,  that,  at  the  close  of  her 
glowing  description,  even  Madame  de  Motteville  is  frank 
enough  to  confess  that  Mazarin  had  caused  money  to  be 
distributed  to  the  populace ;  while  other  authorities  assert 

*  Memoires  pour  servir  a  l'Histoire  d'Anne  d'Autriche,  par  Madame 
de  Motteville.  t  M6moires  du  Cardinal  de  Retz. 

t  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


•JS-J  LOUIS    XIV.     AND 

that,  despite  his  avarice,  the  minister  devoted  as  much  as 
a  hundred  thousand  livres  to  the  preparation  of  this  transi- 
tory triumph.  Be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  certain  that  it  had 
one  very  injurious  effect  upon  the  regent :  for,  while  she 
received  all  these  acclamations  as  genuine,  she  believed 
them  to  be  a  sign  of  the  approbation  accorded  by  the  peo- 
ple to  all  her  previous  measures. 

In  the  evening  there  was  a  grand  reception  at  the  Palais- 
Royal;  and  while  the  cardinal  went,  as  he  said,  to  repose 
himself  in  his  own  apartment,  Monsieur  conducted  the  Duke 
de  Beaufort  through  the  private  rooms,  and  presented  him 
to  the  queen,  when  he  gave  her  repeated  assurances  of  his 
loyalty  and  devotion ;  and  as  he  was  the  only  leader  of  the 
Fronde  who  had  not  yet  been  to  pay  his  court,  either  at 
Compiegne  or  at  St.  Germain  since  the  peace,  every  one 
was  anxious  to  see  how  he  would  acquit  himself.  Nothing 
could  exceed  the  urbanity  with  which  the  queen  received 
his  homage,  nor  the  kindness  with  which  she  assured  him 
that  all  the  past  should  be  forgotten :  and  ultimately  each 
retired,  without  attaching  the  slightest  faith  to  what  the 
other  had  said.  It  was,  perhaps,  unfortunate  for  both  the 
actors  in  this  scene  that  the  interview  took  place  in  the  very 
room  in  which  M.  de  Beaufort  had  been  arrested  seven 
years  before ;  but,  nevertheless,  on  the  following  day,  the 
regent  was  evidently  so  well  satisfied  with  herself,  and  with 
every  thing  about  her,  that  she  did  not  appear  to  remem- 
ber that  she  had  ever  left  Paris. 

The  festival  of  St.  Louis  occurred  a  short  time  afterward  ; 
on  which  occasion  the  king  went  on  horseback  to  the  Jes- 
uits' convent  in  the  rue  St.  Antoine,  accompanied  by  all 
the  princes  and  great  nobles  who  were  in  the  capital,  ele- 
gantly attired,  and  mounted  upon  horses  covered  with  rich 
housings ;  while  the  cardinal,  who  was  not  celebrated  for 
his  personal  courage,  actually  joined  him  there,  after  having 
traversed  the  whole  city  in  his  coach,  almost  without  at- 
tendants ;  and  stranger  still,  without  meeting  with  the  least 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  283 

annoyance.  Mademoiselle  also  followed  the  queen,  and 
upon  reaching  the  convent  was  informed  by  Her  Majesty 
that  news  of  the  empress's  death  had  arrived,  and  that  on 
this  occasion  every  thing  should  be  done  to  secure  her 
own  marriage  with  the  Imperial  widower.  Mademoiselle 
thanked  her  with  great  humility,  and  confesses  that  the 
tidings  gave  her  considerable  pleasure.  When  the  court 
returned  to  the  Palais-Royal,  the  cardinal  had,  in  his  turn, 
a  long  conversation  with  the  princess,  and  told  her  deci- 
dedly that  he  should  send  an  envoy  to  Germany,  to  offer  a 
compliment  of  condolence  to  the  emperor  from  Their  Maj- 
esties ;  and  that  he  would  be  careful  that  the  messenger 
should  be  a  personal  friend  of  her  own,  who  would  be  zeal- 
ous to  forward  her  interests. 

Charles  II.,  in  the  mean  while,  who  was  only  to  have  re- 
mained a  fortnight  in  France,  had  lingered  there  for  three 
months ;  but,  as  the  court  were  at  Paris,  and  he  resided 
with  his  mother  at  St.  Germain,  he  was  very  seldom  in  the 
society  of  the  princess.  When  his  approaching  departure 
was  announced,  Mademoiselle  went  to  pay  her  respects 
to  the  queen,  and  to  take  leave  of  himself,  upon  which  oc- 
casion the  queen  said  that  she  felt  she  ought  to  rejoice 
with  her  niece  at  the  death  of  the  Empress  of  Germany,  as, 
although  the  negotiation  for  her  marriage  had  failed  with 
the  emperor  on  a  former  occasion,  there  was  no  doubt  but 
it  would  now  be  successful.  The  princess  replied,  with 
affected  carelessness,  that  she  bestowed  no  thought  upon 
the  subject ;  when  the  queen  immediately  and  earnestly 
rejoined,  that  there  was  a  young  man  then  present  who  fan- 
cied that  a  king  of  eighteen  years  of  age  was  better  than 
an  emperor  of  fifty  with  four  children ;  and  indulged  in  a 
great  deal  of  banter  of  the  same  description ;  remarking, 
somewhat  bitterly,  in  conclusion,  that  her  son  was  too  poor 
and  too  unfortunate  for  so  great  a  princess;  after  which,  sud- 
denly softening,  she  whispered,  as  she  pointed  to  one  of 
the  English  ladies  of  her  suite,  that  her  son  was  in  love 


284  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

with  her,  and  that  he  was  fearful  lest  Mademoiselle  should 
hear  it,  and  bade  her  remark  how  disconcerted  he  was  to 
see  them  thus  brought  together,  lest  she  should  mention 
the  circumstance.  When  Charles  withdrew,  the  queen  re- 
quested Mademoiselle  to  accompany  her  to  her  closet, 
where,  having  previously  closed  the  door,  she  said  that  her 
son  had  requested  her  to  apologize  to  the  princess,  if  the 
offer  which  she  had  made  to  her  at  Compiegne  had  excited 
her  displeasure — an  idea  of  which  he  could  not  divest  him- 
self— that,  as  to  herself,  she  had  endeavored  to  decline  the 
commission,  but  that  he  had  so  earnestly  entreated  her  to 
fulfill  it,  that  she  could  not  refuse ;  that  she  thought,  as  the 
princess  did,  that  she  would  have  been  miserable  with  him, 
and  she  loved  her  too  well  to  wish  it,  although  it  would 
have  been  fortunate  for  him  personally  if  she  could  have 
been  induced  to  share  his  unhappy  fate ;  but,  meanwhile, 
all  she  could  hope  was,  that  he  might  ultimately  be  success- 
ful in  regaining  his  kingdom,  and  that  Mademoiselle  might 
then  be  prevailed  upon  to  accept  his  hand.  The  princess, 
somewhat  embarrassed  by  this  exhortation,  replied  as  well 
and  as  gratefully  as  she  could  under  such  circumstances, 
and  then  took  her  leave,  in  order  to  proceed  to  the  Abbey 
of  St.  Louis,  at  Poissy,  where  her  two  elder  sisters  had 
been  placed  during  the  Fronde. 

The  young  Duke  of  York  having  volunteered  to  accom- 
pany her,  if  she  would  afterward  leave  him  at  St.  Germain, 
Charles  proposed  also  to  join  the  party  ;  but  to  this  arrange- 
ment she  would  not  consent,  alledging  that  the  duke  being  a 
mere  youth,  she  could  consent  to  his  wish  without  impro- 
priety, but  that  in  the  case  of  His  Majesty  she  felt  herself 
compelled  to  refuse.  Charles,  however,  was  not  to  be  so 
readily  denied;  and  having  prevailed  upon  his  mother  to 
accompany  Mademoiselle,  all  feasible  objection  was  re- 
moved ;  and  accordingly,  the  queen,  the  princess,  and  the 
two  princes  all  traveled  in  Mademoiselle's  coach ;  and 
her  royal  aunt  profited  by  the  opportunity  to  dilate,  through- 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  285 

out  the  whole  journey,  upon  the  admirable  terms  on  which 
her  son  would  live  with  his  wife  when  he  should  many ; 
loving  only  her,  and  dismissing  from  his  mind  all  his  pre- 
vious follies ;  an  assertion  which  he  gravely  confirmed, 
declaring  that  he  could  not  understand  how  any  rational 
man  who  loved  an  agreeable  woman  could  attach  him- 
self elsewhere ;  that,  as  for  himself,  whatever  inclination 
he  might  previously  have  felt  for  any  other  person,  it  would 
be  at  an  end  from  the  very  moment  in  which  he  became  a 
husband. 

The  princess  remained  but  a  short  time  at  Poissy,  as  it 
was  getting  late ;  and,  after  taking  leave  of  the  queen,  was 
led  to  her  carriage  by  Charles,  who  paid  her  many  com- 
pliments, without,  however,  for  an  instant  divesting  himself 
of  his  reserve;  and  she  drove  off  quite  satisfied;  for  having, 
as  she  expresses  it,  once  more  fallen  into  the  snare  of  the 
imperial  marriage,  nothing  that  he  could  have  said  would 
have  made  any  impression  upon  her. 

It  is  curious  to  contrast  both  the  demeanor  and  the  pro- 
fessions of  Charles  II.  at  that  period,  with  his  bearing  and 
principles  in  after-life. 

Some  time  subsequently  Mademoiselle  was  attacked, 
in  her  turn,  by  small-pox  ;  and  except  the  Prince  de  Conde, 
every  one  evinced  great  anxiety  for  her  recovery.  He  alone 
failed  to  leave  his  name  at  her  door,  which  augmented  the 
hatred  she  always  felt  toward  him ;  and  her  health  was  no 
sooner  reestablished  than  she  attended  the  confirmation 
of  the  two  young  princes ;  Monsieur  and  Mademoiselle 
being  the  sponsors  of  the  king;  while  the  Prince  de  Conde 
and  the  Princess-Dowager,  his  mother,  acted  as  those  of  the 
Duke  tl'Anjou. 


>-ri- 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


Hollow  Reconciliations — Arrogance  of  the  Prince  de  Conde — Defiance 
of  Mazarin — "  Adieu,  Mars !" — The  Tabouret — A  new  Affront — Mar- 
riage of  the  Duke  de  Richelieu  and  Mademoiselle  de  Pons — The 
Cardinal  and  Madame  de  Chevreuse — A  War  of  Wits — Meditated 
Arrest  of  the  Princes  of  Lorraine — Autograph  Letter  to  the  Coadjutor 
— His  Distrust  of  the  Regent — Sincerity  of  Mademoiselle  de  Chev- 
reuse— Stipulations  of  the  Coadjutor — Treachery  of  the  Abbe  de  la 
Riviere — tbe  Duke  d'Orleans  and  Madame  de  Soyon — Adhesion  of 
Monsieur  to  the  Conspiracy — The  Cardinal's  Secretary — Apprehen- 
sions of  the  Dowager-Princess  de  Conde — Arrest  of  the  Princes — The 
Journey  to  Vincennes — Public  Excitement — Flight  of  the  Duchess  de 
Longueville — Separation  of  the  Duchess  and  her  Daughter — The  Prin- 
cesses de  Conde  banished  from  the  Court — The  Queen-Regent  at 
Rouen — Disgust  of  Madame  de  Longueville — Her  Escape — Her  Arri- 
val in  Holland — Evasion  of  the  Duke  de  Bouillon  and  Marshal  Tu- 
renne — Return  of  the  Court  to  Paris. 

All  these  seeming  reconciliations  at  court  were,  how- 
ever, as  will  be  readily  understood,  merely  conventional, 
and  had  no  solid  basis.      There  were  too  many  and  too 


LOUIS  XIV.   AND  THE  COURT  OF  FRANCE.  287 

virulent  jealousies  beneath  the  surface ;  too  many  remem- 
brances of  past  power  on  the  part  of  the  pardoned,  and 
too  many  memories  of  mortification  on  that  of  the  pardon- 
ing. Moreover,  the  equality  of  rank  among  the  principal 
actors  was  so  great,  that,  supplying  by  their  influence  the 
slight  difference  which  existed,  they  were  in  no  mood  for 
implicit  and  unquestioning  submission  in  the  one  party  ; 
while  presuming  upon  the  royal  prerogative  and  the  time- 
hallowed  privileges  by  which  they  were  built  in,  they  had 
no  inclination  to  offer  concession  in  the  other.  The  Prince 
de  Conde  was  especially  irksome  to  the  court ;  as  aware  of 
the  large  share  he  had  taken  in  the  preservation  of  that 
throne  which  made  the  strength  of  his  adversaries,  he  be- 
came every  day  more  haughty  and  more  exacting.  He 
considered  that  he  had  fulfilled  all  his  engagements  when 
he  brought  the  king  back  in  safety  to  Paris,  and  continu- 
ally threatened  to  withdraw  to  his  government.  The  pro- 
jected marriage  of  the  Duke  de  Mercceur  and  Victoria 
Mancini,  moreover,  annoyed  him  bitterly.  He  had  learned 
the  private  reception  of  M.  de  Beaufort,  and  he  saw  minis- 
terial favors  about  to  be  showered  down  upon  the  house 
of  Vendome,  which  he  detested ;  while,  urged  by  his  sister 
the  Duchess  de  Longueville,  to  exact  the  government  of 
Pont  de  l'Arche  which  had  been  promised  to  her  husband, 
he  could  not  compel  compliance  with  his  demand.  His 
pretensions,  well-founded  as  they  were,  alarmed  and  an- 
noyed both  the  regent  and  the  cardinal ;  and  at  length, 
one  evening,  when  he  was  persisting  in  his  claim  even 
more  resolutely  than  usual,  Mazarin,  contrary  to  his  general 
custom,  answered  him  very  abruptly ;  upon  which  he  in- 
quired if  His  Eminence  desired  that  there  should  be  war 
between  them  ] 

"  I  do  not  seek  to  excite  hostilities,"  replied  the  minister ; 
"  but  if  you  commence  them,  Prince,  I  must  necessarily  de- 
fend myself." 

This  calm  defiance  was  too  much  for  the  forbearance  of 


288  L  U  U  I  S     XIV.     AND 

M.  de  Conde,  who,  taking  up  his  hat,  and  looking  at  the 
cardinal  with  the  sarcastic  smile  which  was  peculiar  to  him, 
ho  wed  profoundly  ;  and  saying,  "  Adieu,  Mars," — quietly 
left  the  room. 

The  rejoinder  had  been  overheard  ;  and  on  the  following 
day  all  Paris  called  the  cardinal  nothing  but  the  God  Mars. 
It  was  now  universally  believed  that  the  prince  was  defin- 
itively embroiled  with  the  minister;  and  the  most  zealous 
of  the  Frondeurs  were  already  leaving  their  names  at  the 
door  of  M.  de  Conde,  when  the  Duke  d'Orleans,  urged 
by  the  Abbe  de  la  Riviere,  who  was  trembling  for  his  seat 
in  the  conclave,  succeeded  in  effecting  at  least  a  seeming 
reconciliation  between  them.  One  of  the  clauses  of  this  new 
treaty  of  peace  was,  however,  that  the  Princess  de  Marsil- 
lac  and  Madame  de  Pons*  should  have  the  honors  of  the 
tabouret  ;t  and  in  virtue  of  this  concession  made  to  the 
friend  of  his  sister,  and  to  the  wife  of  her  lover,  the  prince 
consented  to  go  through  the  comedy  of  another  peace- 
making. But  even  here  he  was  destined  to  be  deprived  of 
his  triumph  ;  for  this  affair  of  the  tabourets  was  of  more  im- 
portance to  the  French  court  than  a  new  campaign,  and 
presented,  in  point  of  fact,  an  unheard-of  innovation  upon  its 
venerable  etiquet ;  for  neither  the  wife  of  the  Prince  de 

*  Mademoiselle  de  Pons  was  a  charming  and  witty  person  of  the 
queen's  household ;  admirably  shaped,  with  a  very  pleasing  face,  al- 
though, perhaps,  of  somewhat  too  high  a  complexion;  and  had  been 
loved  by  the  Duke  de  Guise  who  caused  the  revolt  in  Naples. 

t  The  tabouret  was  a  small  four-legged  stool,  without  back  or  arms. 
To  have  the  tabouret  was,  in  the  old  French  court,  a  right  possessed  by 
certain  persons  to  place  themselves  on  this  stool,  or  on  a  folding-seat,  in 
the  presence  of  the  queen.  The  tabouret  was  originally  conceded  only 
to  princesses  or  duchesses ;  but  it  was  afterward  allowed  to  all  such  la- 
dies as  occupied  the  first  rank  in  the  queen's  household,  and  whose 
husbands  had  a  right  to  an  arm-chair  in  the  king's  apartment ;  especially 
when  they  were  dukes  and  peers.  From  the  reign  of  Francis  II.,  car- 
dinals, ambassadresses,  duchesses,  and  ladies  whose  husbands  were 
grandees  of  Spain,  as  well  as  the  wives  of  chancellors  and  of  keepers 
of  the  seals,  were  permitted  to  occupy  them. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  289 

Marsillac,  nor  the  widow  of  Francis  Alexander  d'Albret, 
could  advance  a  claim  to  so  marked  a  distinction.  All  the 
nobility,  consequently,  rose  against  this  presumption,  and 
held  meetings  upon  the  subject,  at  one  of  which,  in  the  hotel 
of  the  Marquis  de  Montglat,  Grand-Master  of  the  Ceremo- 
nies, a  protestation  against  the  grant  was  signed. 

This  was  a  new  cause  of  displeasure  for  M.  de  Conde 
against  the  queen ;  as,  in  order  to  prove  that  the  concession 
had  been  forced  from  her,  she  permitted  her  most  intimate 
friends  to  join  the  opposition,  which  soon  acquired  so 
much  importance  that  she  considered  it  necessary  to  assure 
the  prince  that  she  felt  herself  compelled  to  yield  to  so 
general  a  demonstration ;  and,  in  consequence,  four  mar- 
shals were  appointed  to  announce  to  the  assembly  of  the 
nobles  that  the  regent  withdrew  from  Madame  de  Pons  and 
the  Princess  de  Marsillac  the  favor  which  she  had  conceded 
to  them. 

An  opportunity  of  revenge  soon  offered  itself  to  the  Prince 
de  Conde,  who  did  not  fail  to  make  it  available.  The  Duke 
de  Richelieu,  second  nephew  to  the  late  cardinal,  had  fallen 
in  love  with  Madame  de  Pons,  from  whom  the  queen  had 
just  wrested  the  tabouret ;  but  his  passion  was  disapproved 
by  the  court,  for  M.  de  Richelieu  being  governor  of  Havre, 
his  marriage  with  Madame  de  Pons  became  a  matter  of 
serious  importance.  She  was,  as  we  have  already  stated, 
the  intimate  friend  of  the  Duchess  de  Longueville,  who 
already  had,  through  her  husband,  too  much  influence  in 
that  province ;  and  for  this  very  reason  the  prince  resolved 
upon  the  accomplishment  of  a  union  which  every  one  de- 
clared to  be  impossible.  He  conducted  the  lovers  to  a 
house  which  the  duchess  possessed  at  Trie,  where  their 
marriage  took  place,  he  himself  acting  as  the  witness  of  the 
bridegroom ;  and  the  ceremony  had  no  sooner  taken  place 
than  he  started  them  to  Havre,  in  order  that  the  duke  might 
take  immediate  possession  of  his  government ;  and  having 
done  this,  he  returned  immediately  to  court,  and  openly 

vol.  i. — N 


•JIM  LUU1S      XIV.      A  N  U 

boasted  that  M.  de  Longueville  now  possessed  another  for- 
tified town  in  Normandy. 

This  last  exploit  cruelly  wounded  both  the  queen  and 
Mazarin,  who  thenceforth  vowed  the  ruin  of  M.  de  Conde  ; 
and  they  were  still  writhing  under  the  blow,  when  Madame 
de  Chevreuse,  who  had  been  in  a  great  measure  restored  to 
favor,  went  to  pay  her  New-year's  visit  to  Anne  of  Austria, 
where  she  found  the  cardinal,  who,  as  she  was  about  to 
retire,  led  her  into  the  the  bay  of  a  window,  remarking  that 
he  had  just  heard  her  make  great  professions  of  regard  to 
the  queen,  and  was  anxious  to  know  why,  if  they  were 
sincere,  she  did  not  induce  her  friends  to  espouse  the 
interests  of  Her  Majesty.  The  duchess  replied  that  it 
was  impossible,  as  the  queen  was  no  longer  a  sovereign, 
but  merely  the  very  humble  servant  of  the  Prince  de 
Conde. 

The  cardinal  retorted  that  the  regent  could  not  do  im- 
possibilities ;  but  that  if  she  could  assure  herself  of  certain 
persons,  she  could  do  a  great  deal ;  that,  as  it  was,  the 
Duke  de  Beaufort  was  at  the  disposal  of  Madame  de  Mont- 
bazon  ;  Madame  de  Montbazon  at  that  of  Vigneul;*  and  the 

coadjutor  at  that  of .     Here  he  paused,  for  he  had  not 

assurance  enough  to  complete  his  sentence ;  but  the  duchess 
Avas  less  delicate,  and  she  finished  it  for  him  by  pronouncing 
the  name  of  her  daughter. 

The  cardinal  laughed  somewhat  sarcastically  ;  and  when 
he  had  enjoyed  his  jest,  Madame  de  Chevreuse  rendered  it 
still  more  palatable  by  adding  that  she  would  answer  both 
for  the  one  and  the  others.  Mazarin  took  her  at  her  word  : 
and  upon  this  understanding,  desired  her  to  keep  their  se- 
cret, and  to  return  to  the  palace  in  the  evening.  The 
duchess  was  punctual.  She  had  retained  all  her  passion 
for  intrigue,  and  had  been  so  long  compelled  to  remain  in- 
active, that  she  was  delighted  when  the  queen  confided  to 

*  Vigneul  was  one  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  Prince  de  Conde's  house- 
hold, and  entirely  devoted  to  his  interests. 


THE     COUKT     OF     FRANCE,  29 1 

her  the  desire  she  felt  to  arrest  the  prince,  his  brother,  and 
M.  de  Longueville  simultaneously.  One  thing  only  deterred 
her,  as  she  declared  to  the  duchess,  and  that  was  her  uncer- 
tainty a6  to  whether  the  coadjutor  would  lend  himself  to  this 
arrest ;  and  if  the  Duke  d'Orleans,  without  whose  coopera- 
tion it  could  not  be  ventured  upon,  might  be  persuaded  to 
keep  the  secret ;  not  from  the  prince  himself,  but  from  his 
confidante,  the  Abbe  de  la  Riviere,  who  was  exerting  all  his 
energies  to  maintain  a  good  understanding  between  M.  de 
Conde  and  Monsieur. 

After  a  moment's  reflection,  Madame  de  Chevreuse  an- 
swered for  this  also;  only  asking  from  the  queen  some  written 
document  which  she  might  show  to  him,  should  he  doubt 
the  authority  under  which  she  acted.  On  a  gesture  from 
the  cardinal,  the  request  was  granted  ;  and  Anne  of  Austria 
wrote  with  her  own  hand  the  note  that  follows  : — 

"  I  cannot  believe,  notwithstanding  both  the  past  and  the 
present,  that  the  coadjutor  is  not  in  my  interests.  I  beg  him 
to  wait  upon  me  without  the  knowledge  of  any  one,  save 
Madame  and  Mademoiselle  de  Chevreuse.  This  name  will 
be  his  surety.  Anne." 

Armed  with  these  credentials,  the  duchess  ultimately  left 
the  palace  radiant  with  new  life.  She  had  now  an  important 
secret  in  her  keeping,  and  was  about  to  become  herself  an 
actor  in  a  scene  which  must  convulse  the  entire  nation.  She 
was  no  longer  the  powerless  and  forsaken  exile ;  the  wheel  of 
life  had  turned  once  more,  and  she  was  again  the  trusted 
favorite  of  a  powerful  sovereign. 

It,  however,  now  remained  for  her  to  redeem  the  pledge 
that  she  had  given ;  and  she  could  not  conceal  from  her- 
self that  in  answering  for  the  actions  of  the  coadjutor,  even 
under  any  circumstances,  stringent  and  binding  though  they 
might  be,  she  had  entailed  upon  herself  a  great  risk  of 
failure. 


292  LOUIS     XIV.     A  N  U 

On  her  return  from  the  Palais-Royal,  Madame  de  Chev- 
reuse  found  M.  de  Retz  awaiting  her,  who  at  once  discov- 
ered that  she  had  some  important  communication  to  make, 
from  the  fact  that  her  daughter,  whom  she  had  tutored 
during  her  drive,  began  immediately  to  speak  of  Mazarin, 
and  to  question  him  as  to  his  resolution  should  the  cardinal 
propose  a  reconciliation.  Nor  did  he  remain  long  in  doubt 
that  this  attempt  was  about  to  be  made,  for  Mademoiselle 
de  Chevreuse,  who  did  not  dare  to  speak  openly  before  the 
duchess,  affected  to  let  her  handkerchief  fall  to  the  ground  ; 
and  when  M.  de  Retz  stooped  and  restored  it  to  her,  she 
pressed  his  hand  emphatically,  in  order  to  make  him  under- 
stand that  she  was  acting  merely  under  coercion. 

The  coadjutor  began  to  reflect,  and  his  first  impulse  was 
a  decidedly  negative  one ;  for  some  time  previously  he  had 
refused  to  participate  in  a  similar  negotiation  to  which  the 
duchess  had  endeavored  to  urge  him  ;  and  had  subsequently 
been  informed  that  the  advances  made  by  the  regent  toward 
a  reconciliation  were  a  mere  snare,  the  intention  having  been 
to  conceal  the  Duke  de  Grammont  behind  a  tapestry  screen, 
in  order  that  he  might  be  enabled  to  inform  the  prince  that 
famous  Frondeurs,  whom  he  was  occasionally  inclined  to 
support,  were  only  anxious  to  save  themselves  individually 
by  abandoning  their  party,  when,  by  so  doing,  they  could 
advance  their  own  interests.  The  plot  had  signally  failed, 
it  is  true,  but  it  had  engendered  increased  distrust  and  sus- 
picion ;  and  of  this  fact  the  duchess  had  been  aware  when 
she  required  a  written  evidence  from  the  queen  which  must 
exonerate  herself. 

Nevertheless,  the  coadjutor  having  reason  to  place  implic- 
it faith  in  the  exasperation  of  the  regent  against  the  Prince 
de  Conde  (which  was  by  no  means  unfounded,  as  he  had 
encouraged  the  Marquis  de  Jarze  in  a  boast  which  he  had 
made,  of  being  essentially,  rather  than  creditably,  in  her 
favor),  he  felt  inclined  to  believe  that  on  this  occasion  her 
intentions  were  sincere.    When  she  saw  him  waver.  Made- 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  293 

moiselle  Chevreuse  could  forbear  no  longer,  but  exerted 
all  her  influence  to  induce  him  again  to  refuse  the  over- 
tures of  the  court,  which  she  declared  would  entail  certain 
ruin  both  upon  his  person  and  his  fortunes.  The  duchess, 
however,  persisted  in  her  importunity  ;  and  the  coadjutor  at 
last  prevailed  upon  her  daughter,  who  had  thrown  herself, 
drowned  in  tears,  upon  a  sofa,  to  trust  to  his  discretion  ;  and 
when  she  had  conceded  thus  much,  he  began  seriously  to 
consider  the  bearings  of  the  case.  The  eloquence  of  Ma- 
dame de  Chevreuse  was  persuasive,  but  not  convincing ; 
and  at  length  he  terminated  the  discussion  with  his  usual 
diplomacy,  by  declaring  that  he  would  not  move  a  step 
without  a  written  invitation  to  that  effect  from  the  queen 
herself. 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  duchess  was  prepared  to 
meet  this  objection ;  and,  accordingly,  she  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  coadjutor  the  letter  of  the  regent ;  which  he  had  no 
sooner  read  than  he  inquired  if  she  would  personally  be  the 
pledge  of  its  sincerity.  She  assented  without  hesitation ; 
and  upon  this  assurance  M.  de  Retz  took  up  a  pen,  and 
wrote  a  reply  in  these  terms  : — 

"  There  has  never  been  a  moment  in  my  life  of  which  I 
have  not  been  equally  in  the  interest  of  Your  Majesty.  I 
should  be  too  happy  to  die  in  your  service,  to  seek  to  give 
one  thought  to  my  own  safety.  I  will  present  myself  where- 
ever  Your  Majesty  may  command." 

Having  written  this  concise  but  important  answer  to  the 
royal  missive,  the  coadjutor,  with  a  high-heartedness  which 
assuredly  did  him  honor,  inclosed  both  the  notes  in  the 
same  cover,  and  committed  them  to  the  care  of  Madame  de 
Chevreuse,  by  whom  they  were  on  the  morrow  delivered  to 
the  queen,  who  received  them  with  every  demonstration  of 
satisfaction  and  confidence.  In  the  course  of  the  day  M. 
de  Retz;  received  an  intimation  from  the  duchess  to  be  in 


294  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

the  cloisters  of  St.  Honore  at  midnight,  and  he  had  remained 
there  only  a  few  minutes,  when  he  was  joined  by  Gabouri, 
the  queen's  cloke-bearer,  who  conducted  him  by  a  back 
stair-case  to  the  private  oratory  of  the  queen,  where  he  found 
her  alone.  This  was  the  apartment  in  which  great  political 
questions  were  generally  decided,  "  and  where  at  rare  inter- 
vals," says  a  French  author,  cynically,  "  they  prayed  to  God 
from  sheer  want  of  presence  of  mind."  * 

He  was  received  as  men  always  are  who  are  essential  to 
their  receivers  ;  and  M.  de  Retz  was  the  more  welcome  be- 
cause the  queen  knew  him  to  be  personally  inimical  to  the 
prince  ;  but  as  he  himself  declares,  great  and  earnest  as  was 
her  hatred  of  M.  de  Conde,  throughout  the  whole  interview 
her  attachment  to  Mazarin  was  still  more  manifest ;  of  him 
she  spoke  continually  as  the  "  poor  cardinal,"  both  when 
discussing  the  late  faction-war,  and  while  trying  to  impress 
upon  the  coadjutor  the  great  attachment  of  the  minister  to 
himself. 

At  the  end  of  half  an  hour  the  cardinal  entered  the  ora- 
tory ;  and  requesting  that  the  queen  would  permit  him  for 
an  instant  to  fail  in  the  respect  which  was  her  due,  by  em- 
bracing in  her  presence  a  man  whom  he  both  esteemed  and 
loved,  he  threw  himself  into  the  arms  of  the  visitor,  declar- 
ing that  he  had  now  but  one  regret,  which  was,  that  he 
could  not  at  that  very  moment  transfer  to  M.  de  Retz  his 
own  seat  in  the  conclave ;  and  at  length,  after  a  multitude 
of  other  professions,  all  without  doubt  equally  sincere,  he 
paused  for  a  reply. 

That  which  he  received  from  the  coadjutor  was  brief  and 
simple.  The  prelate  said  that  the  honor  of  serving  the  re- 
gent was  the  only  recompense  to  which  he  aspired,  and 
that  he  requested  none  other  might  be  offered,  in  order 
that  he  might  retain  the  proud  satisfaction  of  feeling  that  he 
had  not  been  influenced  by  any  merely  personal  considera- 
tion. This  text  was  a  safe  one  for  Mazarin ;  who,  there- 
*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  295 

upon,  became  still  more  urgent,  and  insisted  that  when  M. 
de  Retz  was  about  to  render  such  essential  service  to  the 
state,  the  queen  was  bound  to  confer  upon  him  some  signal 
favor ;  and  he  particularized  an  application  for  the  next 
cardinal's  hat,  in  opposition  to  the  claim  of  the  Abbe  de  la 
Riviere,  which  he  declared  to  be  both  unfounded  and  pre- 
sumptuous ;  but  the  coadjutor  stood  firm,  and  positively 
refused  to  accept  so  high  a  dignity  upon  any  political  plea ; 
while,  in  like  manner,  he  declined  the  offer  which  was  made 
to  pay  his  debts,  to  make  him  grand-almoner,  and  to  give 
him  the  abbey  of  Orleans.  But  as  Mazarin  still  insisted 
that  the  honor  of  the  queen  would  compel  her  to  some  act 
of  beneficence  at  such  a  conjuncture,  M.  de  Retz  at  length 
said  that  there  was  one  point  upon  which  Her  Majesty 
could  serve  him  more  essentially  than  were  she  even  to  bestow 
upon  him  the  triple  tiara  itself.  She  had  informed  him  of 
her  intention  to  arrest  the  Prince  de  Conde ;  but  he  was 
well  aware  that  the  imprisonment  of  a  person  of  his  rank 
and  services  could  not  be  eternal ;  and  that  on  its  cessation, 
when  he  reappeared,  his  anger  would  be  the  ruin  of  those 
who  had  assisted  in  effecting  his  disgrace.  He  added  that 
there  were  several  other  persons  of  distinction  who  had  as 
much  zeal  for  the  queen's  service  as  himself,  and  who  had 
assisted  her  as  effectually ;  and  that  should  Her  Majesty 
see  fit  to  confide  to  one  of  them  some  considerable  trust, 
he  should  feel  more  individually  obliged  than  by  the  pos- 
session often  cardinal's  hats:  upon  which  Mazarin  at  once 
remarked  to  the  regent  that  nothing  could  be  more  reason- 
able, and  that  he  himself  would  arrange  the  matter  with  M. 
de  Retz. 

The  queen  then  impressed  upon  the  coadjutor  the  neces- 
sity of  maintaining  a  profound  silence  on  the  subject  of 
this  interview  with  the  Duke  de  Beaufort ;  as  Madame  de 
Montbazon,  to  whom  he  would  not  fail  to  confide  her  in- 
tention of  arresting  the  prince,  would  immediately  commu- 
nicate it  to  Vigneuil,  who  was  the  firm  friend  of  M.  de 


29(5  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

Conde.  The  coadjutor  at  once  gave  the  required  assurance ; 
and  then  added,  that  as  a  secret  of  this  nature  withheld  from 
the  duke,  whose  interest  was  bound  up  with  his  own,  was 
a  failure  of  confidence  which  would  dishonor  him  in  the 
eyes  of  the  world  if  it  were  not  compensated  by  some  com- 
petent service,  he  would  consequently  entreat  Her  Majesty 
to  allow  him  to  remark,  that  the  superintendence  of  the 
navy,  which  had  been  promised  to  his  family  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  regency,  would  produce  a  most  benefi- 
cial effect  if  bestowed  upon  M.  de  Beaufort. 

As  he  ceased  speaking,  the  cardinal  observed,  with  some 
abruptness,  that  the  place  had  only  been  promised  to  the 
father  and  the  elder  son  ;  but  the  coadjutor  had  anticipated 
the  difficulty,  and  replied,  with  a  low  bow  and  a  meaning 
smile,  that  he  had  a  strong  conviction  that  the  elder  son  in 
question  was  about  to  contract  an  alliance  which  would 
elevate  him  far  above  even  that  dignity ;  upon  which  the 
minister,  whose  vanity  was  flattered  by  the  inference,  once 
more  smiled ;  and  turning  toward  the  queen,  repeated 
that  they  would  arrange  the  matter  between  them. 

M.  de  Retz,  fully  aware  that  he  had  now  the  game  in 
his  hands,  readily  acquiesced  in  this  arrangement,  and  his 
diplomacy  did  him  credit ;  for  he  stipulated  that — 

The  Duke  de  Vendume  should  have  the  superintendence 
of  the  navy  during  his  life,  and  M.  de  Beaufort  the  rever- 
sion of  the  same  post. 

That  M.  de  Noirmoutier  should  have  the  command  of 
Charleville  and  Mount  Olympus. 

That  M.  de  Brissac  should  have  the  government  of  Anjou 
at  a  fixed  price,  and  with  a  discretionary  patent  for  the 
whole  sum. 

That  the  Marquis  de  Laigues*  should  be  captain  of  the 
guard  to  the  Duke  d'Orleans. 

And  that,  finally,  M.  de  Sevigne  should  receive  twenty- 
two  thousand  livres. 

*  Memoires  du  Cardinal  de  Retz. 


THE     COURT     OF     PKANCE,  297 

These  terms  accepted,  he  guarantied  to  the  queen  that 
she  should  be  left  at  full  liberty  to  arrest  the  princes  at  her 
pleasure ;  but  he  endeavored  to  intercede  in  behalf  of  M. 
de  Longueville,  offering  himself  as  his  security,  and  under- 
taking to  answer  for  his  loyalty.  Upon  this  point,  however, 
both  the  regent  and  her  minister  maintained  their  ground ; 
and  as  the  coadjutor  was  still  persisting  in  his  importuni- 
ties, the  cardinal  drew  from  his  pocket  a  letter  written  by 
the  Abbe  de  la  Riviere  to  the  Chevalier  de  Flamarens ;  and, 
pointing  to  a  particular  passage,  M.  de  Retz  read  these 
words : — 

"  Thank  you  for  your  information ;  but  I  am  as  sure  of 
M.  de  Longueville  as  you  are  of  M.  de  la  Rochefoucauld  ; 
the  decisive  words  have  been  said." 

All  expostulation  was  of  course  useless  after  such  conclu- 
sive evidence,  not  only  of  the  adhesion  of  the  Duke 
Longueville  himself  to  the  party  of  the  prince,  but  also  of 
that  of  Monsieur's  favorite. 

In  a  second  conference,  at  which  the  queen  was  again 
present,  a  long  discussion  arose  as  to  the  best  method  of 
inducing  the  Duke  d'Orleans  to  consent  to  the  arrest  of 
the  princes.  The  regent  anticipated  very  little  difficulty, 
saying  that  she  knew  him  to  be  heartily  tired  of  M.  de 
Conde,  and  still  more  so  of  La  Riviere,  whom  he  had  dis- 
covered to  be  devoted,  body  and  soul,  to  the  prince  ;  but 
the  cardinal  was  far  from  entertaining  the  same  confidence. 
It  was,  therefore,  resolved  that  all  should  be  left  to  the 
management  of  Madame  de  Chevreuse;  who,  enchanted 
by  the  confidence  reposed  in  her,  only  awaited  a  favorable 
opportunity  of  undertaking  her  mission.  It  was  not  long 
wanting.  Monsieur,  although,  as  it  will  be  remembered, 
he  had  run  away  with  his  second  wife,  and  had  persisted 
in  marrying  her  against  the  inclination  both  of  her  family 
and  his  own,  was,  nevertheless,  from  time  to  time  guilty  of 
sundry  infidelities  with  the  ladies  of  the  court  ;  and  it  so 
chanced  that  a  short  time  previously  he  had  formed  an  at- 


298  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

tachment  for  Madame  de  Soyon,  one  of  the  ladies  of  honor 
to  Madame,  who  suddenly  disappeared  from  the  court,  and 
shut  herself  up  in  a  Carmelite  convent,  whence  neither 
threats  nor  promises  could  induce  her  to  emerge. 

The  duke,  in  his  despair,  appealed  both  to  the  queen 
and  the  cardinal  upon  the  occasion  ;  but  as  at  that  particular 
moment  they  had  no  interest  in  exerting  their  interference 
in  his  favor,  they  had  excused  themselves  upon  the  plea  that 
both  the  royal  will  and  the  ministerial  power  were  useless 
against  a  religious  vocation ;  while  that  of  Mademoiselle 
Soyon  was  declared  to  be  extraordinary.  Monsieur  was, 
consequently,  in  despair. 

Nothing  could  have  more  effectually  assisted  the  projects 
of  the  duchess.  She  waited  upon  him  while  he  was  still 
indulging  the  bitterness  of  his  grief;  and  after  a  demonstra- 
tion of  indignant  sympathy  which  excited  his  gratitude,  she 
confided  to  him  the  exasperation  of  the  queen  against  M. 
de  Conde  ;  declaring  that,  notwithstanding  the  many  reas- 
ons which  Her  Majesty  assuredly  had  for  feeling  annoyed 
with  the  prince,  her  anger  was  more  excited  by  his  inter- 
ference with  the  interests  of  the  Duke  d'Orleans  than  from 
any  consideration  for  herself  When  this  adroit  flattery 
had  taken  firm  root,  she  exaggerated,  with  all  her  well-tried 
skill  the  immense  advantage  which  he  must  necessarily  de- 
rive from  restoring  to  the  king's  sendee  a  faction  so  power- 
ful as  that  of  the  Fronde  ;  and  then,  with  an  admirably- 
acted  shudder,  she  confessed  to  him  the  terror  in  which  she 
lived,  and  which  was  shared  by  all  her  friends,  at  the  idea 
of  once  more  seeing  Paris  delivered  over  to  bloodshed  ;  an 
argument  which  was,  perhaps,  the  most  powerful  that  she 
could  have  advanced,  as  His  Royal  Highness  invariably 
shook  with  fear  upon  every  occasion  when  he  was  com- 
pelled to  traverse  the  streets,  and  to  attend  the  parliament. 

But  her  culminating  point  of  genius  was  yet  to  be  at- 
tained ;  and  when  she  found  that  she  had  so  worked  upon 
the  alarm  of  the  duke  that  he  had  become  plastic  in  her 


THE     COURT     O  F     FRANCE.  299 

hands,  she  offered  to  reveal  to  him  the  secret  of*  the  cahal 
which  had  deprived  him  of  his  mistress ;  and,  on  condition 
that  he  would  take  an  oath  upon  the  Gospel  to  keep  what 
she  was  about  to  reveal  a  perfect  secret,  even  to  induce 
Mademoiselle  Soyon  to  leave  the  convent. 

Monsieur  swore  whatever  she  directed,  for  he  made  light 
of  such  a  ceremony  at  all  times ;  and,  for  once,  he  kept  his 
word.  She  told  him  that  the  plot  had  originated  with  the 
Princess  de  Conde  and  the  Abbe  de  la  Riviere,  both  of  whom 
were  jealous  of  Mademoiselle  Soyon  :  the  former  because 
she  feared  that  her  enemies  might  avail  themselves  of  the 
influence  of  this  new  favorite  to  perpetuate  the  enmity  of 
Monsieur  and  her  husband ;  and  the  abbe  for  reasons  which 
are  sufficiently  obvious.  The  detail  was  so  incredible  that 
the  duke  asked  for  proofs  of  its  truth.  Madame  de  Chev- 
reuse  had  provided  them,  and  they  were  at  once  exhibited  ; 
upon  which  the  despair  of  Monsieur  turned  to  anger.  This 
point  gained,  the  duchess  next  put  into  his  hands  a  letter, 
in  which  Mademoiselle  Soyon  declared  that  she  was  ready 
to  leave  the  Carmelites,  if  she  could  be  assured  that  the 
queen  would  protect  her  against  her  enemies  ;  alluding  to 
the  princess  and  La  Riviere.  This  was  too  much;  and 
the  anger  of  Monsieur  at  once  degenerated  into  fury. 

Roused  suddenly  from  his  lethargy,  like  a  lion  from  his 
lair,  his  violence  became  so  great  that  the  duchess  trembled 
lest  she  should  have  gone  too  far,  and  accoi'dingly  exerted 
all  her  efforts  to  restore  him  to  composure,  eventually  so 
far  succeeding  that  he  promised  to  allow  her  to  arrange 
the  whole  affair,  and  once  more  swore  to  keep  it  secret. 
As  two  of  the  oaths  of  His  Royal  Highness  might  be  allow- 
ed to  bear  the  same  weight  as  one  from  any  other  person, 
Madame  de  Chevreuse  had  no  alternative  but  to  trust  to 
them  ;  and  she  did  so  with  the  better  faith,  that  the  duke 
would  not  risk  his  own  safety  by  consenting  to  the  arrest, 
until  Madame  de  Chevreuse,  on  her  side,  procured  from 
the  coadjutor  a  written  promise  that  he  would  second  him  : 


300  LOUIS     XI  V.     A  N  D 

to  which  she  readily  consented — when,  having  reported  her 
success  to  the  regent,  the  arrest  of  the  princes  and  their 
brother-in-law  was  fixed  for  mid-day  on  the  18th  of  Janua- 
ry, when  they  were  summoned  to  attend  the  council. 

The  Duke  d'Orleans,  proud  of  the  diplomacy  which  he 
had  displayed,  lost  no  time,  not  only  in  assuring  the  regent 
of  his  cooperation  in  her  design,  but  also  of  his  having  in- 
duced M.  de  Retz  to  join  the  conspiracy;  and  as  a  proof 
of  this  feat,  he  displayed  to  her  the  note  of  the  coadjutor, 
pluming  himself  upon  the  point  which  he  had  gained ; 
while,  as  a  necessary  consequence,  no  effort  was  made  to 
undeceive  him. 

On  the  evening  of  the  17th,  as  a  matter  of  course,  Mon- 
sieur was  suddenly  taken  ill,  for  such  was  always  the  case 
upon  the  eve  of  any  transaction  which  involved  danger,  or 
by  which  he  might  be  compromised ;  and  in  the  course  of 
the  following  morning,  the  Prince  de  Conde  paid  a  visit  to 
the  cardinal,  whom  he  found  in  conversation  with  Priolo, 
the  body-servant  of  M.  de  Longueville,  sending  sundry  kind 
messages  to  his  master,  mingled  with  entreaties  that  he 
would  not  fail  to  attend  the  council.  On  the  entrance  of 
the  prince,  Mazarin  was  about  to  dismiss  his  companion, 
but  M.  de  Conde  made  a  sign  that  he  should  not  disturb 
himself,  and  approached  the  fire. 

Close  to  the  mantle-piece,  Lyonne,  the  secretary  of  state, 
was  writing ;  but,  as  the  prince  drew  near,  he  concealed 
the  papers  upon  which  he  was  engaged  under  the  table- 
covering;  the  inteiTuption  was,  in  fact,  inopportune  enough, 
for  he  was  just  then  drawing  up  the  warrants  for  the  treble 
arrest.  M.  de  Conde  remained  nearly  a  quarter  of  an  hour, 
chatting  with  the  minister  and  his  secretary,  and  then  took 
leave  of  them  to  fulfill  a  dinner-engagement  with  the  prin- 
cess-dowager. He  found  her  in  a  state  of  great  uneasi- 
ness. She  had  been,  in  the  course  of  the  morning,  to  the 
Palais-Royal,  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  queen  ;  and  as  she  had 
the  entree  at  all  hours,  she  had  been  admitted  to  her  sleep- 


THE     COURT     OF     FRAN  C  E.  30 1 

ing-chamber,  where  she  found  the  regent  in  bed,  and  com- 
plaining of  indisposition,  although  her  appearance  belied 
the  assertion.  Nor  was  this  her  only  cause  of  alarm.  Anne 
of  Austria  was  embarrassed  and  ill  at  ease  with  her  friend  ; 
and  this  friend  had  not  yet  forgotten  that  she  had  seen  Her 
Majesty  in  nearly  the  same  state  on  the  day  of  the  Duke 
de  Beaufort's  arrest.  She  therefore  earnestly  cautioned  her 
son  to  be  careful  of  his  person,  for  that  she  had  a  foreboding 
of  evil. 

M.  de  Conde  was,  however,  in  no  mood  to  start  at  shad- 
ows ;  and,  for  all  reply,  he  drew  from  his  pocket  a  letter 
which  he  held  toward  his  mother,  declaring  that  she  had 
no  cause  for  distrust,  as  he  had  seen  the  queen  on  the  pre- 
vious day,  when  she  was  full  of  kindness ;  and  that  only 
four-and-twenty  hours  before,  he  had  received  that  letter 
from  the  cardinal. 

The  princess  read  the  communication  with  a  beating 
heart.  It  was,  in  truth,  well  calculated  to  allay  her  fears, 
had  she  not  been  a  mother.     These  were  its  contents : 

"  I  promise  the  prince,  under  the  good  pleasure  of  the 
king,  and  by  the  command  of  the  queen-regent  his  mother, 
that  I  will  never  abandon  his  interests,  but  will  sustain  them 
toward  all,  and  against  all ;  and  I  entreat  His  Highness  to 
consider  me  as  his  very  humble  servant ;  and  to  favor  me 
with  his  protection,  which  I  will  merit  by  all  the  obedience 
that  he  may  desire  from  me.  To  which  I  have  signed  in 
the  presence,  and  by  the  command  of  the  queen. 

"  Cardinal  Mazarin." 

Madame  de  Conde  shook  her  head  doubtingly  as  she  re- 
folded the  letter.  Its  formality  and  precision  alarmed  her. 
More  than  ever  convinced  that  she  had  serious  cause  for 
misgiving,  she  at  once  proceeded  to  expostulate  with  her 
son  ;  declaring  that  it  was  not  only  her  own  idea  that  there 
was  a  conspiracy  against  him,  but  that  the  Prince  de  Mar- 


302  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

sillac,  who  had  opportunities  of  ascertaining  most  of  the 
movements  of  the  court,  had  begged  her  to  prevent,  should 
it  be  in  her  power,  the  simultaneous  appearance  of  the 
princes  at  the  council.  Her  entreaties  were,  however, 
vain ;  M.  de  Conde  had  too  much  faith  in  his  own  strength 
to  apprehend  violence;  and  all  which  the  princess  could 
induce  him  to  concede  was,  that  she  should  be  allowed  on 
the  morrow  to  precede  him  to  the  presence  of  the  queen, 
of  whose  health  she  was  about  again  to  inform  herself. 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  afterward,  the  prince  was,  in  his 
turn,  ushered  into  the  royal  chamber,  where  the  regent  was 
still  in  her  bed  ;  but  the  curtains  were  drawn  closely  round 
her,  probably  to  conceal  the  emotion  which  she  was  unable 
altogether  to  suppress.  The  prince  approached  and  enter- 
ed into  conversation  with  her,  when  her  replies  were  so 
calm  and  unembarrassed,  that  he  felt  convinced,  even  if  he 
were  not  at  the  extreme  height  of  favor,  that  he  was  at  least 
very  necessary  to  the  well-being  of  the  court;  and,  after 
the  customary  compliments,  he  took  his  leave. 

As  her  son  was  about  to  pass  her,  the  princess-dowager 
extended  her  hand,  which  M.  de  Conde  earned  with  re- 
spectful tenderness  to  his  lips.  How  different  would  have 
been  their  parting  could  they  have  foretold  that  it  was  des- 
tined to  be  a  final  one !  The  poor  mother  never  saw  that 
son  again :  her  death-bed  was  to  be  embitterred  by  the  re- 
membrance that  the  gallant  representative  of  her  noble 
house  was  the  inmate  of  a  prison. 

From  the  apartment  of  Anne  of  Austria  the  prince  passed 
through  a  small  cabinet,  which  gave  entrance  to  a  second, 
opening  both  into  the  room  of  the  cardinal,  and  the  gallery 
in  which  the  council  held  their  sittings,  and  he  was  about 
to  proceed  to  the  apartment  of  Mazarin,  when  the  minister 
suddenly  appeared  with  his  most  winning  smile  upon  his 
lips.  While  they  were  conversing,  they  were  joined  by 
M.  de  Longueville,  and  finally  by  the  Prince  de  Conti; 
and  the  cardinal  had  no  sooner  ascertained  that  the  three 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  303 

brothers  were  at  last  within  his  grasp,  than  he  desired  one 
of  the  door-keepers  to  inform  the  queen  that  the  princes 
and  M.  de  Longueville  had  arrived,  that  all  was  ready,  and 
that  she  might  proceed  to  the  council-chamber. 

This  was  the  signal  concerted  between  the  regent  and 
her  minister,  and  the  door-keeper  departed  on  his  errand. 
As  he  withdrew  the  Abbe  de  la  Riviere  entered,  upon 
which  the  cardinal  requested  the  princes  to  excuse  him,  as 
he  had  to  confer  on  business  of  importance  with  the  abbe, 
adding,  that  if  they  would  enter  the  council-room  he  would 
shortly  follow  them. 

They  complied  without  suspicion,  and  were  immediately 
joined  by  the  other  members  of  the  ministry ;  and,  mean- 
while, the  cardinal  withdrew  to  his  apartment,  accompa- 
nied by  La  Riviere,  where  he  amused  him  in  an  extraordi- 
nary manner.  He  had  provided  a  number  of  patterns  of 
cloth  of  different  shades  of  crimson,  and  took  this  opportu- 
nity of  desiring  him  to  select  that  which  he  conceived  would 
be  the  most  becoming  to  his  complexion  when  he  obtained 
the  cardinalate.  This  was  the  bait  with  which  he  had  for 
the  last  two  years  deluded  the  favorite  of  Monsieur ;  and 
the  abbe,  enchanted  with  every  thing  which  seemed  to  ap- 
proach him  to  the  object  of  this  ambition,  had  just  chosen 
a  charming  shade,  which  could  not  fail  to  be  effective,  when 
a  great  noise  was  audible  from  the  gallery.  Mazarin  smiled 
one  of  his  treacherous  smiles,  and  grasping  the  arm  of  the 
ecclesiastic,  asked  him  if  he  could  guess  what  was  taking 
place  at  that  moment. 

Of  course  he  replied  in  the  negative,  upon  which  the  car- 
dinal informed  him  of  the  arrest.  La  Riviere  became  as 
pale  as  ashes,  let  fall  the  piece  of  cloth  which  he  held  in  his 
hand,  and  inquired  if  the  Duke  d'Orleans  was  aware  of 
the  intention  of  the  queen.  Mazarin  replied  that  he  had 
not  only  been  acquainted  with  it  for  the  last  fortnight,  but 
that  he  had  assisted  in  its  execution.  This  was  a  cruel 
blow  to  the  favorite,  who  at  once  felt  that  his  influence  was 


304  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

at  an  end  if  Monsieur,  who  had  never  been  celebrated  for 
his  discretion,  could  so  long  withhold  a  matter  of  this  im- 
portance from  a  man  for  whom  he  affected  the  most  ex- 
treme regard. 

During  this  time  the  queen,  so  soon  as  she  was  informed 
that  the  princes  were  at  length  within  her  grasp,  dismissed 
Madame  de  Conde,  on  the  plea  of  preparing  to  attend  the 
council ;  upon  which  the  princess,  having  kissed  her  hand, 
courtesied,  and  withdrew. 

In  the  gallery,  meanwhile,  another  and  a  more  striking 
scene  was  enacting.  While  the  Prince  de  Conde  was  talk- 
ing with  the  Count  d'Avaux,  with  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the 
door  by  which  the  queen  was  to  enter,  it  opened,  and  Gui- 
taut,  the  captain  of  the  guard,  appeared  upon  the  thresh- 
old. As  he  was  a  great  favorite  with  the  prince,  the  latter 
immediately  imagined  that  he  had  some  favor  to  request ; 
and  in  order  to  spare  him  as  much  embarrassment  as  pos- 
sible, he  left  the  count,  and  approaching  the  worthy  soldier, 
asked  what  he  could  do  to  oblige  him.  Guitaut  hung  his 
head.  He  had  nothing  to  ask,  he  said,  his  errand  was  of 
a  different  nature.  He  came  with  an  order  to  arrest  His 
Highness  himself,  the  Prince  de  Conti,  his  brother,  and 
M.  de  Longueville,  his  brother-in-law. 

The  thing  appeared  so  impossible  that  it  was  with  a 
smile,  half  doubt  and  lialf  gayety,  that  the  prince  repeated 
his  words. 

Guitaut,  however,  persisted,  though  with  evident  cha- 
grin, and  extended  his  hand  toward  the  sword  which  M.  de 
Conde  wore  at  his  side.  Still  the  prince  would  not  yield : 
he  felt  convinced  that  there  must  be  some  misunderstand- 
ing, and  he  desired  the  captain  of  the  guard  to  return  to 
the  queen,  and  entreat  her  to  grant  him  an  audience.  He 
was  obeyed ;  but  his  messenger  cautioned  him  not  to  an- 
ticipate the  acquiescence  of  the  regent,  asserting  that  he 
only  complied  with  His  Highness's  directions  in  order  to 
satisfy  him  of  his  respect   and  good-will.     This  warning 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  305 

was  well-timed  ;  for  on  his  return  he  announced  that  Her 
Majesty  refused  to  see  the  prince,  and  that  it  was  her  posi- 
tive pleasure  that  he  should  be  arrested  forthwith.  M.  de 
Conde  merely  bowed,  in  reply,  and  gave  up  his  sword  to 
the  disconcerted  Guitaut;  while  the  Prince  de  Conti  and 
M.  de  Longueville,  following  his  example,  simultaneously 
resigned  theirs  to  Lieutenant  Comminges,  and  Ensign 
Cressy. 

As  they  were  about  to  leave  the  gallery,  M.  de  Conde 
inquired  the  place  of  their  destination,  alledging  that  he 
had  contracted  a  violent  rheumatism  in  the  camp,  and  that 
the  cold  and  damp  were  very  prejudicial  to  him.  He  was 
informed  that  the  order  dnected  his  transfer  to  Vincennes, 
to  which  arrangement  he  offered  no  objection,  but  calmly 
turned  to  take  leave  of  the  noblemen  by  whom  he  was 
surrounded,  begging  them  to  bear  him  in  remembrance 
though  he  was  about  to  become  a  prisoner,  and  desiring 
that  the  Count  de  Brienne  would  embrace  him,  as  they 
were  relatives. 

M.  de  Conde  and  his  brothers  then  descended  by  a  pri- 
vate stair-case,  and  found  a  carriage  awaiting  them,  sur- 
rounded by  a  troop  of  gendarmes,  under  the  command  of 
M.  de  Miossens,*  who  could  not  conceal  his  astonishment 
when  he  discovered  who  were  to  be  his  prisoners.  The 
three  princes  entered  the  carriage,  Guitaut  transferred  his 
charge  to  Comminges  and  Miossens,  and  they  were  driven 
off  at  a  swift  pace ;  but  as  they  were  conducted  by  a  cross 
road  which  was  at  once  bad  and  intricate,  in  order  that  they 
might  not  be  recognized  on  their  journey,  in  turning  a  sharp 
corner  the  carriage  was  upset.  The  prince,  whose  agility 
was  incomparable,  was  in  an  instant  upon  his  feet,  and  at 
a  distance  of  twenty  paces  from  his  escort;  when  Mios- 
sens, who  apprehended  that  he  was  about  to  attempt  mak- 
ing his  escape,  hurriedly  approached  him,  beseeching  that 
he  would  not  be  his  ruin  ;  whereupon  M.  de  Conde  assured 
*  Afterward  Marshal  d'Albret. 


300  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

him  with  a  amile  that  he  would  not  profit  by  the  accident 
which  had  occurred ;  but  remarked  at  the  same  time  that 
Miosscns  would  do  well  to  remember  that  he  was  only  a 
younger  son,  and  that  such  an  opportunity  of  making  his 
fortune  might  never  again  occur  throughout  his  life.  The 
young  soldier  only  shook  his  head,  and  replied  that  notwith- 
standing all  the  respect  and  admiration  which  he  felt  for 
His  Highness,  and  all  the  repugnance  which  he  experienced 
to  the  execution  of  his  present  task,  no  temptation  should 
induce  him  to  fail  in  the  duty  and  obedience  that  he  owed 
to  both  the  king  and  the  regent. 

No  one  was  more  capable  of  appreciating  such  a  principle 
than  the  conqueror  of  Rocroy  ;  and  it  was  consequently  with- 
out any  further  effort  to  shake  the  loyalty  of  his  guard  that 
the  Prince  de  Conde  seated  himself  once  more  in  the  car- 
riage, which  had  been  restored  to  its  original  position ;  and 
his  example  had  no  sooner  been  followed  by  his  brothers 
and  Comminges,  than  the  journey  was  l'esumed.  On  the 
road  M.  de  Conde  inquired  of  the  count  if  he  had  any  sus- 
picion of  the  cause  of  his  arrest. 

"  The  crime  of  Your  Highness,"  replied  Comminges, 
"  appears  to  me  to  be  that  of  Germanicus,  who  fell  under 
the  suspicion  of  the  Emperor  Tiberius,  because  he  was 
too  valuable,  too  much  loved,  and  had  made  himself  too 
great." 

When  they  arrived  at  the  foot  of  the  fortress,  Mios- 
sens,  approached  to  take  leave  of  the  prince,  when,  for  the 
first  time,  the  noble  prisoner  appeared  somewhat  affected. 
He  thanked  Miossens  for  the  courtesy  with  which  he  had 
acted  toward  him;  and  bade  him  say  to  the  queen,  that, 
despite  her  injustice,  he  was  still  her  humble  servant.  The 
count  and  his  prisoners  then  entered  the  tower.  As  the 
authorities  were  not  prepared  to  receive  any  new  inmates, 
the  garrison  had  no  beds  to  offer  them ;  and  Comminges, 
who  was  to  remain  eight  days  as  then-  guard,  desired  that 
caids  might  be  brought,  as  the  best  expedient  for  getting 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  307 

through  the  night,  and  that  which  was  the  most  consonant 
to  the  general  taste  of  the  court-nobles.  The  party  accord- 
ingly played  till  daybreak ;  at  which  time  preparations 
were  made  for  the  comfort  of  the  illustrious  captives,  in 
which  Comminges  was  an  active  agent,  for  his  attachment 
to  the  prince  was  beyond  the  reach  of  misfortune ;  and  he 
afterward  frequently  declared  that,  thanks  to  the  cheerful 
wisdom  and  experienced  judgment  of  M.  de  Conde,  the 
eight  days  which  he  passed  with  him  as  his  fellow-prisoner 
at  Vincennes  were  the  happiest  of  his  life. 

When  he  at  last  took  leave  of  the  noble  brothers,  he  in- 
quired whether  there  were  any  books  that  they  would  wish 
to  have  ;  to  which  the  Prince  de  Conti  replied  that  he  should 
be  glad  of  the  Imitation  of  Jesus  Christ. 

"  And  Your  Highness  V  inquired  the  count,  addressing 
the  prince. 

"  I,  sir ;"  was  the  ready  answer ;  "  should  be  glad  of  the 
Imitation  of  the  Duke  de  Beaufort."  * 

The  escape  of  M.  de  Beaufort  from  the  same  fortress  will 
be  fresh  in  the  memories  of  our  readers. 

The  coadjutor  was  faithful  to  the  promise  which  he  had 
given  to  the  queen ;  and,  having  made  his  own  terms,  kept 
the  secret  of  the  treble  arrest,  until  at  mid-day  Madame  de 
Chevreuse  sent  to  request  both  himself  and  the  Duke  de 
Beaufort  to  visit  her  at  her  hotel,  when  she  revealed  to  them, 
as  a  profound  secret,  the  intention  of  the  regent,  which  was 
to  be  executed  at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  which 
she  received  the  royal  command  to  communicate  to  them 
only.  The  coadjutor  earned  off  M.  de  Beaufort  to  dinner, 
and  amused  him  the  whole  afternoon  by  playing  chess, 
even  preventing  his  waiting  upon  Madame  de  Montbazon, 
as  he  was  anxious  to  do ;  in  consequence  of  which  circum- 
stance the  prince  was  arrested  before  she  had  an  idea  that 
such  a  project  was  in  agitation,  and  her  anger  was  excessive. 
She  told  the  Duke  de  Beaufort  that  whatever  explanation 
*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


308  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

he  might  see  fit  to  offer,  it  was  evident  that  he  had  been 
duped;  when  he,  in  his  turn,  accused  the  coadjutor,  who 
at  once,  and  in  her  presence,  explained  every  thing,  and 
drew  from  his  pocket  the  patent  of  the  admiralty.  On  sight 
of  this  talisman,  M.  de  Beaufort  embraced  him  ardently, 
and  Madame  de  Montbazon  threw  herself  on  his  neck,  and 
rewarded  him  in  the  same  way.  The  last  difficulty  was 
overcome. 

Thus  was  accomplished  a  great  event,  which,  in  the  course 
of  a  single  day,  changed  the  whole  face  of  affairs. 

M.  de  Bouteville*  made  an  effort  to  excite  the  Parisians 
to  revolt,  by  galloping  to  the  Pont-Neuf  immediately  that 
the  news  reached  him,  and  shouting  to  the  people  that  the 
Duke  de  Beaufort  had  been  arrested.  The  crowd  sprang 
to  their  arms  ;  but  the  coadjutor  who  had  apprehended  the 
possibility  of  an  outbreak,  put  an  end  at  once  to  this  de- 
monstration by  walking  through  the  streets  of  the  city,  pre- 
ceded by  five  or  six  torch-bearers,  while  the  duke  followed 
his  example ;  and  from  that  moment  all  was  joy  and  exul- 
tation. The  Parisians  forgot  that  the  Great  Conde,  had,  in 
all  probability,  not  only  preserved  their  beloved  capital  it- 
self, but  also  their  country,  and  remembered  only  that  he 
had  been  in  arms  against  the  city  ;  their  delight  accordingly 
amounted  to  intoxication ;  and  while  bonfires  were  blazing 
on  all  sides,  they  erected  a  new  idol  for  popular  worship, 

*  Francis  Henry  de  Montmorency,  Duke  and  Marshal  de  Luxem- 
bourg, was  the  posthumous  son  of  Francis  de  Bouteville,  whose  name 
he  originally  bore.  Born  in  1628,  he  was  a  pupil  of  the  great  Conde, 
and  served  as  a  lieutenant-general  at  the  conquest  of  Franche-Comte, 
in  1668.  He  was  commander-in-chief  during  the  celebrated  campaign 
in  Holland,  at  the  conclusion  of  which  he  made  the  famous  retreat  so 
admired  by  the  enemy,  where  he  passed  through  a  hostile  army  of 
70,000  strong  with  20,000  men.  In  1675  he  obtained  the  marshal's 
baton;  in  1690  he  gained  the  battle  of  Fleurus;  in  1691  that  of  Stein- 
kerque ;  and  in  1693  that  of  Nerwinde.  He  died  in  1695,  with  the  rep- 
utation of  being  the  greatest  general  in  France.  He  was  both  deformed 
and  humpbacked. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  309 

and  that  idol  was  Mazarin  !  Only  on  the  previous  day  the 
minister  had  been  ridiculed,  hated,  and  execrated;  but 
suddenly  he  became  the  object  of  general  admiration  and 
regard ;  a  fact  which  the  mob  somewhat  wittily  explain- 
ed by  declaring,  with  that  sarcastic  pleasantry  peculiar  to 
their  order,  that  it  could  not  be  otherwise,  as  His  Emi- 
nence had  ceased  to  be  a  Mazarinite,  and  had  joined  the 
Fronde. 

The  epigram  was  a  happy  one. 

Something  was,  however,  yet  left  undone.  The  court  had 
rid  itself  cleverly  of  the  three  princes ;  but  the  Duchess  de 
Longueville  was  still  at  large,  and  6he  was  no  less  danger- 
ous an  enemy  than  M.  de  Conde  himself.  When  the  news 
of  the  arrest  of  her  husband  and  her  two  brothers  reached  her, 
6he  at  once  started  for  Normandy,  where  she  antipated  that 
her  authority  would  be  supreme.  She  was  accompanied 
by  her  daughter,  who  did  not,  however,  long  share  her 
wanderings  :  for,  in  consequence  of  a  quarrel  which  occur- 
red between  them  at  Dieppe,  Mademoiselle  de  Longueville 
refused  to  proceed ;  and  having  applied  to  the  court  for  pro- 
tection and  safety,  she  was  allowed  to  retire  to  an  estate 
which  belonged  to  her  father.  The  Princesses  de  Conde 
had  already  received  an  order  to  retire  to  Chantilly  ;  and 
the  queen  had  no  sooner  learned  the  flight  of  Madame  de 
Longueville  to  the  government  of  her  husband,  than  she 
announced  her  own  departure  for  Rouen  with  the  young 
princes.  Only  a  year  before  Normandy  had  risen  at  the 
bidding  of  the  duchess ;  but  twelve  long  and  eventful  months 
had  since  elapsed,  and  now  she  spoke  in  vain ;  not  a  hand 
was  outstretched  to  uphold  her. 

Disgusted  and  disappointed,  she  left  Rouen,  where  the 
queen  arrived  shortly  after  her  departure,  and  thence  she 
proceeded  to  Havre.  She  felt  sure  of  the  Duke  de  Riche- 
lieu, for  she  had  herself  obtained  for  him  his  appointment ; 
but  the  duke  shut  the  gates  against  her,  little  anticipating 
that  he  should,  ere  long,  see  thorn  closed  against  himself. 


310  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

Neither  as  a  protector,  nor  as  a  pretty  woman,  could  the 
duchess  prevail  against  his  decision ;  and  yet  this  was  the 
same  Duke  de  Richelieu  who  had  ordered  his  servants  to 
burn  one  of  his  carriages,  in  which  Mademoiselle  de  Saint- 
Amaranthe,  of  whom  he  was  enamored,  had  refused  to  allow 
him  to  drive  her  to  her  hotel. 

Finding  that  he  was  peremptory  in  his  refusal  to  offer 
her  an  asylum,  Madame  de  Longueville  pursued  her  jour- 
ney to  Dieppe ;  but  this  resource  signally  failed ;  for  the 
regent  forthwith  appointed  the  Count  d'Harcourt  to  the 
government  of  Normandy,  and  sent  some  troops,  under  the 
command  of  Plessis-Bellievre,  against  the  fugitive.  Ma- 
dame de  Longueville  did  not  await  the  siege  of  the  castle ; 
but  when  she  ascertained  the  advent  of  the  soldiery,  fearing 
that  she  might  be  given  up  by  M.  de  Montigny,  the  gov- 
ernor, she  escaped  by  a  back  door ;  and,  followed  by  a  few 
women  who  had  possessed  sufficient  courage  to  share  her 
fortunes,  and  a  few  gentlemen  who  would  not  forsake  her, 
she  traveled  two  leagues  on  foot  to  the  little  port  of  Pour- 
ville,  where  a  vessel,  which  she  had  freighted  in  the  event 
of  necessity,  was  awaiting  her.  When  she  reached  the 
sea-shore,  the  tide  was  so  strong,  and  the  wind  so  tempest- 
uous, that  the  sailors  entreated  her  not  to  embark  in  such 
unfavorable  weather;  but  the  duchess  feared  less  to  en- 
counter the  tempest  than  to  see  herself  in  the  power  of  the 
regent,  and  she  consequently  persisted.  The  state  of  the 
tide  rendering  it  impossible  for  a  boat  to  approach  close  to 
the  shore,  one  of  the  mariners  lifted  her  in  his  arms  to  con- 
vey her  on  board;  but  he  had  scarcely  advanced  twenty 
paces,  when  an  enormous  wave  carried  him  off  his  feet,  and 
he  fell.  For  an  instant  Madame  de  Longueville  believed 
that  she  was  lost,  as  in  falling  he  had  lost  his  hold  and  she 
sunk  into  deep  water;  but  after  some  exertion  she  was 
dragged  on  board  the  boat.  On  recovering,  she  again 
expressed  a  wish  to  reach  the  vessel,  but  the  sailors  refused 
to  make  another  attempt,  declaring  that  it  was  only  flying 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  311 

in  the  face  of  Providence ;  and  being  consequently  compel- 
led to  adopt  some  other  expedient,  she  sent  for  horses  to 
proceed  along  the  coast.  These  procured,  the  party  mount- 
ed, and  rode  all  night  and  the  following  day,  when  a  noble 
of  Caux  received  her  and  her  followers  with  great  courtesy, 
and  faithfully  concealed  them. 

While  under  his  roof  she  learned  that  the  captain  of  the 
vessel  which  she  had  been  anxious  to  reach  was  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  cardinal,  and  that  had  she  once  set  her  foot 
on  board,  she  would  have  been  arrested.  At  length  she 
found  herself  once  more  in  Havre  ;  and  having  gained  over 
the  captain  of  an  English  ship,  to  whom  she  introduced 
herself  in  male  attire  as  a  nobleman  who  had  just  been 
engaged  in  a  duel,  and  was  obliged  to  leave  France,  she 
succeeded  in  obtaining  a  passage  to  Holland,  where  the 
Prince  and  Princess  of  Orange  received  her  as  though  she 
had  been  a  fugitive  queen.* 

The  Duke  de  Bouillon,  who  had  entered  into  a  close  alli- 
ance with  the  Prince  de  Conde  since  the  peace,  left  in  all 
haste  for  Turenne ;  the  Marshal  de  Turenne,  who  had  fol- 
lowed his  example  since  his  return  to  France,  threw  himself 
into  Stenay,  a  strong  place  which  M.  de  Conde  had  con- 
fided to  La  Moussaye;  the  Prince  de  Marsillac  returned 
to  his  home  at  Poitou  ;  and  the  Marshal  de  Breze,  the  father 
of  the  princess,  retired  to  Saumur,  of  which  he  was  the 
governor. 

The  parliament  published  and  registered  a  declaration 
against  each  and  all  of  these  individuals,  by  which  they 
were  commanded  to  present  themselves  within  a  fortnight 
to  the  king ;  or,  in  default,  were  declared  from  that  time 
to  be  disturbers  of  the  public  peace,  and  guilty  of  lese- 
majeste. 

At  the  same  period  the  court  left  Paris  to  make  the  tour 
of  Normandy,  where  it  was  apprehended  that  Madame  de 
Longueville,  who  had  been  received  into  the  castle  of 
*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


312     LOUIS     XIV.     AND     THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE. 

Dieppe  might  create  some  disaffection.  All,  however,  gave 
way  before  the  approach  of  royalty ;  and  the  duchess  left 
Holland  and  proceeded  to  Arras,  where  she  tampered  with 
M.  la  Tour,  who  was  a  pensioner  of  her  husband  ;  but  who, 
even  while  he  proffered  to  her  his  personal  services,  refused 
either  to  give  up  his  command,  or  to  involve  the  city.  She 
accordingly  moved  on  to  Stenay,  where  she  was  met  by  M. 
de  Turenne  with  all  the  force  he  had  been  able  to  collect 
since  his  departure  from  Paris,  among  the  friends  and  fol- 
lowers of  the  princes. 

Not  having  encountered  any  opposition  in  Normandy, 
where  all  the  military  authorities  and  governors  of  fortress- 
es hastened  to  convince  him  of  their  loyalty,  the  king  and 
his  mother  proceeded  to  Burgundy,  where  they  were  simi- 
larly received,  and  having  established  the  Count  d'Har- 
court  as  Governor  of  Normandy,  the  court  returned  to 
Paris. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


Arrest  of  the  Duchess  de  Bouillon ;  her  Escape  with  her  Daughter ; 
their  Seizure;  they  are  conveyed  to  the  Bastille — Evasion  of  the 
Princess  de  Conde  and  the  Duke  d'Enghien — Appeal  of  the  Princess- 
Dowager  to  the  Parliament ;  her  Banishment  to  Valery — Madame 
de  Longueville  and  Turenne  make  a  Treaty  with  Spain — Turenne 
at  the  Head  of  his  Troops — The  Court  at  Compiegne — Madame  de 
Conde  at  Bordeaux — Danger  of  the  royal  Envoy — Mademoiselle  and 
the  Emperor  of  Germany — Court  of  Madame  de  Conde — The  King's 
Troops  march  against  the  Princes — Journey  of  the  Court  to  Bordeaux 
— Capture  of  Vayres — Execution  of  the  Governor — Reprisals — Exe- 
cution of  the  Baron  de  Canolles — Siege  of  Bordeaux — Submission  of 
the  City — Interview  of  the  Queen-Regent  and  Madame  de  Conde — 
Levity  of  Mademoiselle — Coldness  of  the  Bordeaulese  toward  the  Re- 
gent— March  of  Turenne  and  the  Archduke  on  Paris — Preparations 
for  a  Renewal  of  the  Fronde — The  Regent  sick  at  Poitiers — Exasper- 
ation of  the  Coadjutor — Madame  de  Rhodes,  the  Princess-Palatine, 
and  Mademoiselle  de  Chevreuse — Henry,  Duke  de  Guise ;  his  ro- 
mantic Career — The  double  Divorce — Procrastination  of  the  Duke 
d'Orleans ;  his  Indignation  at  the  proposed  Removal  of  the  Princes 
to  Havre  ;  his  narrow  Policy — The  extorted  Signature — Arrival  of 
Charles  II. — Coldness  of  the  French  Court — Retirement  of  the  En- 
glish King  to  Jersey. 
VOL.  I. O 


314  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

Previously  to  leaving  the  capital  the  regent  had  given 
an  order  for  the  arrest  of  the  Duchess  de  Bouillon  in  her 
own  house,  the  duke  having  joined  M.  de  Turenne,  whom 
he  knew  to  he  the  firm  friend  of  the  princes ;  hut  even  after 
she  was  under  strict  surveillance,  with  a  party  of  soldiers 
in  her  hotel,  as  no  mention  had  been  made  of  her  daughter, 
Mademoiselle  de  Bouillon  was  left  free  to  come  and  go  as 
she  pleased.  One  evening  she,  as  usual,  entered  her  moth- 
er's apartment,  and  feigning  to  have  found  her  asleep  in 
bed,  said  that  she  would  return  to  her  own  room,  request- 
ing the  sentinel,  who  was  in  the  antechamber,  to  light  her 
to  her  door.  She  was  obeyed  without  hesitation,  and  the 
man  accordingly  preceded  her,  carrying  a  lamp,  without 
remarking  that  the  duchess  was  walking  close  behind  her 
daughter.  When  they  reached  the  hall  Mademoiselle  de 
Bouillon  pursued  her  way,  but  the  duchess  turned  down  a 
stair-case  which  led  to  the  cellar,  where  she  concealed  her- 
self until  the  sentinel  had  resumed  his  post,  when  she  was 
again  joined  by  her  daughter.  This  done,  with  the  help 
of  some  ropes  thrown  to  them  by  friends  without,  they 
both  escaped  through  the  ventilator,  and  hid  themselves  in 
a  private  house  until  they  could  devise  some  method  of 
quitting  Paris.  Unfortunately,  however,  on  the  very  day 
which  had  been  fixed  for  their  final  evasion,  Mademoiselle 
de  Bouillon  sickened  with  the  small-pox,  and  as  her  moth- 
er refused  to  leave  her,  the  police  discovered  their  retreat, 
and  they  were  both  seized,  and  conveyed  to  the  Bastille. 

The  Princess  de  Conde,  the  wife  of  the  prince,  was  more 
successful.  An  order  had  been  given  that  while  in  arrest 
at  Chantilly  she  was  to  be  constantly  kept  within  sight ;  but 
as  she  was  aware  of  the  fact,  she  took  measures  to  deceive 
the  vigilance  of  her  guardians  ;  and  when  about  to  be  com- 
pelled to  permit  the  visit  of  the  officer  appointed  to  watch 
her,  on  an  occasion  of  alledged  indisposition,  she  put  one 
of  her  ladies  into  her  bed,  disguised  by  a  headdress  which 
almost  concealed  her  features ;  and  while  this  person  con- 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE,  315 

versed  with  her  jailer,  the  princess  fled  with  her  son,  the 
Duke  d'Enghien,  and  reached  Montrond,  a  secondary  town, 
of  which  the  partisans  of  M.  de  Conde  had  possessed  them- 
selves. 

Here,  however,  she  did  little  more  than  halt,  for  the 
place  was  not  capable  of  sustaining  a  siege,  while  negotia- 
tions were  entered  into  with  Bordeaux,  where  the  inhabi- 
tants were  extremely  discontented  with  the  administration 
of  the  Duke  d'Epernon,  its  governor,  who  had  fallen  into 
disrepute  both  with  the  parliament  and  the  magistrates ; 
and  when  this  intelligence  reached  them,  the  court  ordered 
the  Marshal  de  la  Meilleraye  to  assume  forthwith  the  com- 
mand of  the  troops  at  Poitou.  But  they  had  still  another 
female  enemy  to  contend  against,  for  the  princess-dowa- 
ger— the  daughter  of  the  old  constable,  the  sister  of  that 
Montmorency  who  was  decapitated  at  Toulouse,  the  last 
object  of  the  love  of  Henry  IV.,  the  mother  of  the  great 
Conde,  with  whom  the  regent  was  conversing  affectionately 
while  she  was  causing  her  son  to  be  arrested  under  the 
same  roof — resolved  to  do  what  none  other  had  ventured 
even  to  contemplate,  but  which,  in  her  maternal  love  ap- 
peared to  her  to  be  a  holy  duty  from  which  she  could  not 
shrink  :  she  resolved  to  demand  justice  from  the  parliament 
for  the  conqueror  of  Sens  and  Rocroy. 

Until  the  departure  of  the  queen  from  Paris,  the  prin- 
cess-dowager had  remained  in  concealment  in  the  city ;  and 
while  the  court  were  still  in  Burgundy,  she  presented  her- 
self to  the  councilors  of  the  upper  chamber,  as  they  were 
about  to  assemble,  accompanied  by  the  Duchess  de  Cha- 
tillon.*  She  urged  that  her  sons  should  be  put  upon  their 
trial,  that  they  might  be  condemned  if  they  were  guilty, 
and  set  at  liberty  if  they  were  innocent ;  and  she  was  lis- 
tened to  with  the  respect  which  was  her  due,  while  it  was 
decreed  that  she  should  remain  in  all  safety  in  the  house 

*  Sister  of  the  Marshal  de  Luxembourg,  and  subsequently  Duches9 
of  Mecklenburg. 


UU)  LOUIS     XIV.     AXD 

of  the  controller  of  accounts,  and  that  a  request  should  be 
made  to  the  Duke  d'Orleans,  who,  in  the  absence  of  the 
king,  the  queen,  and  the  cardinal,  was  at  the  head  of  af- 
fairs, to  come  and  assume  his  place  at  the  palace. 

The  reply  of  Gaston  intimated  that  the  princess  had  re- 
ceived an  order  from  the  king  to  proceed  to  Bourges,  and 
that,  in  his  opinion,  she  should  at  least  show  herself  willing 
to  obey,  by  retiring  to  some  place  outside  the  capital, 
where  she  might  await  the  return  of  the  court,  which  was 
expected  in  a  few  days ;  and  as  this  temporizing  measure 
relieved  the  parliament  from  serious  embarrassment,  the 
princess  was  constrained  to  acquiesce  in  the  suggestion. 
She  consequently  left  Paris  the  same  evening  for  Berny, 
from  whence  the  king,  who  arrived  shortly  afterward,  com- 
manded her  to  remove  to  Valery.  Heart-struck,  hopeless, 
and  broken-spirited,  the  princess  endeavored  to  obey,  but 
at  Angerville  she  fell  ill,  and  was  unable  to  proceed.* 

Meanwhile,  Madame  de  Longueville  and  the  Marshal 
Turenne — we  place  the  name  of  the  lady  first  advisedly, 
for  this  struggle  was  indeed  destined  to  be,  as  it  was  after- 
ward aptly  denominated,  "  the  women's  war" — made  a 
treaty  with  Spain,  and  the  marshal  joined  their  army,  then 
in  Picardy  besieging  Guise,  which  held  out  for  eighteen 
days,  when,  from  the  failure  of  provisions,  the  archduke 
was  compelled  to  raise  the  siege. 

M.  de  Turenne  had  collected  a  few  troops  with  the 
money  which  the  Spaniards  had  accorded  to  him  by  treaty, 
and  increased  their  strength  by  the  remnants  of  the  force 
which  had  garrisoned  Bellegarde,  upon  which  he  was  soon 
joined  by  a  host  of  men  of  rank  and  mark,  who  enabled 
him  to  assume  a  threatening  attitude. 

The  court,  upon  ascertaining  this  movement,  forthwith 
departed  for  Compiegne ;  and  the  cardinal,  once  more  dis- 
abused of  the  security  with  which  he  had  so  lately  nattered 
himself,  went  forward  to  St.  Quentin,  to  discuss  with  Mar- 
*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


THE     COURT      OF     FRANCE.  317 

shal  Duplessis  the  means  of  effectively  opposing  M.  de  Tu- 
renne.  While  he  was  thus  engaged,  news  arrived  of  seri- 
ous disturbances  in  Guienne,  where  Madame  de  Conde 
had  attracted  to  her  interests  the  Prince  de  Marsillac, 
become  Duke  de  la  Rochefoucauld  by  the  recent  death  of 
his  father ;  and  the  Duke  de  Bouillon,  who,  after  having 
secured  Marshal  Turenne,  had  made  an  appeal  to  the  no- 
bility of  Auvergne,  and  Poitou,  which  had  been  answered 
by  the  formation  of  a  little  army  of  nearly  two  thousand 
five  hundred  men.  A  rendezvous  was  appointed  at  Mau- 
riac,  where  the  princess,  with  her  son  in  her  arms,  was  re- 
ceived with  vehement  acclamations,  and  by  a  general  vow 
that  the  soldiers  would  not  lay  down  their  arms  until  justice 
had  been  done  to  the  imprisoned  princes.  Madame  de 
Conde  and  her  son  descended  the  Dordogne  on  board  a 
boat,  while  the  troops  marched  along  the  bank,  drums 
beating,  standards  flying,  and  every  thing  in  strictly  war- 
like array ;  and,  after  sustaining  a  few  skirmishes,  the  little 
army  arrived  at  Coutras,  where  they  learned  that,  as  they 
had  already  anticipated,  the  city  of  Bordeaux  was  ready 
to  receive  the  princess  and  the  Duke  d'Enghien,  on  condi- 
tion that  their  escort,  which  appeared  to  the  citizens  to  be 
too  numerous  for  admittance  within  the  walls,  should  re- 
main outside  the  town.  The  concession  was  made,  and  the 
illustrious  fugitives  entered  Bordeaux,  amid  cries  of"  Long 
live  the  Prince  de  Conde  !  Long  live  the  Duke  d'En- 
ghien !  Long  live  the  Princess  !"  At  this  moment  a  courier 
from  the  court  passed  through  an  opposite  gate,  and  also 
arrived  in  the  city,  when  a  messenger  was  dispatched  in 
great  haste  to  Madame  de  Conde,  to  inform  her  that  the 
royal  envoy  was  in  danger  of  being  torn  to  pieces  by  the 
populace  if  she  did  not  exert  herself  to  save  him.  For  an 
instant  her  friends  remained  undecided  whether  it  might 
not  be  politic  to  sacrifice  this  unhappy  man,  in  order  to 
give  the  court  a  just  idea  of  the  state  of  public  feeling  in 
Guienne;  but  the  princess,  who  could  not  endure  that  the 


a  18  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

first  step  which  she  took  to  liberate  her  husband  should  be 
in  blood,  overruled  the  momentary  hesitation,  and  it  was 
publicly  declared  that  she  requested  the  life  of  the  messen- 
ger as  a  personal  favor;  upon  which  he  was  suffered  to 
withdraw  in  safety  from  the  city. 

As  regarded  the  princess  herself,  the  parliament  decided 
that  she  was  welcome  to  Bordeaux,  and  free  to  remain 
there  in  all  surety,  provided  she  attempted  nothing  that 
was  contrary  to  the  service  of  the  king. 

About  this  time  Mademoiselle,  again  deluded  by  her 
hope  of  becoming  Empress  of  Germany,  granted  an  inter- 
view to  M.  de  Montergue,  one  of  the  confidential  friends 
of  the  cardinal,  who  had  just  returned  from  that  country, 
where  he  informed  her  that  she  was  much  wished  for ;  and, 
although  when  she  pressed  him  upon  the  subject,  he  replied 
vaguely  enough  that  the  ministers  had  not  conferred  with 
him  upon  the  subject,  nor  made  it  a  matter  of  conversa- 
tion— a  fact  which  he  considered  to  arise  simply  from  their 
knowledge  that  he  was  in  the  interests  of  His  Eminence — 
she  still  accepted  his  unauthorized,  and  almost  meaningless 
communication,  as  a  symbol  of  success ;  and,  with  unex- 
ampled weakness,  held  a  long  conference  with  the  cardinal 
on  the  strength  of  his  friend's  report,  which  terminated  in 
his  inducing  her  to  send  a  dependent  of  her  own  to  Ger- 
many, with  full  instructions  to  further  her  marriage ;  and 
the  departure  of  this  new  messenger,  she  says,  gave  her 
great  joy.* 

The  news  received  by  the  regent  from  the  south  became 
daily  more  alarming.  The  princess  was  enacting  over 
again  at  Bordeaux  the  role  winch  Madame  de  Longueville 
had  played  in  Paris  during  the  first  act  of  the  Fronde ;  and 
her  little  court,  although  confined  in  number,  was  brilliant 
in  rank  and  renown.  She  received  the  Spanish  ambassa- 
dors and  treated  with  them ;  refused  to  recognize  the  let- 
ters of  the  Marshal  de  la  Meilleraye ;  caused  the  parlia- 
*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  319 

ment  of  Bordeaux  to  communicate  in  writing  with  that  of 
the  capital;  and  confided  to  the  dukes  De  Bouillon  and 
De  la  Rochefoucauld,  whom  it  had  at  first  been  decided 
were  to  remain  without  the  walls,  the  two  most  important 
commands  in  the  city. 

These  circumstances  determined  the  regent,  immediately 
that  she  should  be  in  a  position  to  do  so,  to  act  vigorously 
against  the  Bordeaulese  and  their  new  idol ;  and,  as  a 
precautionary  measure,  Monsieur  and  all  the  ministers, 
most  of  whom  were  at  that  moment  in  Paris,  were  sum- 
moned to  the  king's  presence.  The  chancellor  had  been 
exiled,  and  M.  de  Chateauneuf  was  keeper  of  the  seals. 
At  this  meeting  it  was  resolved  that  the  court  should  pro- 
ceed immediately  to  Bordeaux  ;  that  the  Duke  d'Orleans 
should  remain  in  command  of  Paris,  and  that  he  should  re- 
tain near  him  the  secretary  of  state,  Le  Tellier,*  to  super- 
intend  the   dispatches,   M.  de   Chateauneufit   and   sundry 

*  Michel  le  Tellier,  son  of  a  councilor,  was  born  at  Paris  in  1603. 
He  was  first  councilor  of  the  Grand  Council,  then  (1631)  King's  Advo- 
cate at  the  chatelet  of  Paris,  and  Master  of  Requests.  Appointed 
Steward  of  Piedmont  (1640),  he  gained  the  favor  of  Mazarin,  who  ap- 
pointed him  Secretary  of  State  and  War-Secretary.  Throughout  the 
troubles  he  clung  to  the  faction  of  the  cardinal.  He  was  intrusted  with 
all  the  negotiations  between  the  court  and  the  princes,  particularly 
those  with  Gaston  d'Orleans  and  the  Prince  de  Conde.  He  effected 
the  conclusion  of  the  treaty  of  Ruel.  After  having  been  minister  of 
the  regent,  he  retained  the  same  office  under  Louis  XIV.  He  worked 
with  Colbert  the  overthrow  of  Fouquet;  and  obtained  the  reversion 
of  his  charge  for  his  son,  the  Marquis  de  Louvois.  In  1677  he  was 
created  chancellor  and  keeper  of  the  seals ;  and  in  this  capacity  was  one 
of  the  principal  movers  of  the  convocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes.  He 
died  in  1685,  and  his  funeral  oration  was  delivered  by  Bossuet. 

t  This  nobleman  had  been  for  ten  years  a  prisoner  at  Angouleire,  for 
the  share  which  he  had  taken  in  the  cabals  of  Anne  of  Austria  and 
Monsieur;  and  it  was  expected  that,  upon  the  establishment  of  the  re- 
gency, he  would  not  only  be  restored  to  liberty,  but  that  he  would  be- 
come a  prominent  member  of  the  queen's  court.  Such  was,  however, 
far  from  being  the  case  ;  he  was  liberated,  it  is  true,  but  with  the  inti- 
mation that  he  was  to  retire  to  one  of  his  estates;  and  as  his  emanci- 


;}-JU  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

other  of  the  ministers.  The  Duke  de  la  Meilleraye  had 
accepted  the  command  of  the  army,  and  had  preceded  the 
kino-.  The  Duke  d'Epernon  was  recalled,  and  after  hay- 
ing paid  his  respects  to  Their  Majesties  at  Angouleme, 
proceeded  to  Larches. 

"  The  Marshal  de  la  Meilleraye,"  says  Mademoiselle, 
"  met  Their  Majesties  at  Coutras,  a  spot  rendered  very 
remarkable  by  the  battle  gained  there  by  the  king  my 
grandfather,  when  he  was  sovereign  of  Navarre.  The 
place  belongs  to  the  prince.  The  marshal  returned  to  the 
army,  and  did  not  find  it  so  efficient  as  he  had  anticipated ; 
but  he  did  not  tell  the  queen  the  truth  :  he  said  that  it  was 
the  finest  in  the  world,  although  it  was  very  weak ;  and 
there  was  no  artillery,  although  cannon  were  indispensable 
for  a  siege." 

The  relief  of  Guise  by  the  royalist  army  gave  the  court 
a  slight  respite  ;  and  when  it  was  resolved  that  the  king's 
forces  should  march  against  the  Princess  de  Conde  as  they 
had  done  against  the  Duchess  de  Longueville,  the  Duke 
d'Orleans  was  appointed  lieutenant-general  of  the  kingdom 
within  the  Loire ;  and  the  king,  the  queen,  and  the  cardi- 
nal commenced  their  journey,  although  not  without  certain 
misgivings  which  they  were  not  able  altogether  to  conceal. 
The  reluctance  with  which  they  separated  themselves  from 
Paris  was,  in  fact,  so  great,  that  while  the  journal  of  the 
court  announced  that  they  were  advancing  toward  the 
seat  of  rebellion  by  forced  marches,  they  actually  wasted  a 
month  between  the  capital  and  Libourne ;  where,  upon 
their  arrival,  the  first  act  of  the  regent  was  one  of  such 
severity  as  to  excite  serious  reprisals. 

pation  took  place  immediately  after  the  victory  of  Rocroy,  and  that  M. 
de  Chateauneuf  had  presided  at  the  commission  which  adjudged  the 
death  of  Montmorency,  the  brother-iu-law  of  M.  de  Conde,  it  is  proba- 
ble that  the  court  dared  not,  at  such  a  moment,  make  any  other  dem- 
onstration in  his  favor.  The  disgrace  of  the  prince,  and  the  troubles 
of  the  Fronde,  having  emancipated  the  regent  from  these  considerations, 
M.  de  Chateauneuf  was  appointed  chancellor. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  32 1 

About  two  leagues  from  Bordeaux  there  stood  a  build- 
ing, half  mansion,  half  fortress,  which  was  commanded  by 
a  governor  named  Richon,  an  ancient  valet-de-chambre  of 
the  Duke  de  la  Rochefoucauld,  who,  never  anticipating 
that  Vayres  (for  the  little  citadel  was  so  called)  would 
become  an  object  of  hostility,  had  settled  his  old  domestic 
in  the  fort  as  in  a  comfortable  sinecure.  Vayres  was,  of 
course,  very  soon  taken  ;  and  a  council  of  war  condemned 
the  unlucky  Richon  to  be  hanged,  as  guilty  of  the  audacity 
of  endeavoring  to  hold  his  fortress  against  the  king,  when 
he  was  not  even  of  gentle  blood. 

This  ill-omened  execution  spread  universal  terror  among 
the  Bordeaulese,  who  began  to  feel  that  they  could  hope 
for  no  mercy  at  the  hands  of  the  court ;  and  they  al- 
ready spoke  of  offering  conditions,  when  the  leaders  of 
the  Conde  faction  resolved,  by  an  immediate  display  of 
rigor,  to  put  the  whole  city  within  the  pale  of  the  law ; 
and,  in  order  to  do  this,  they  only  required  to  hang  one 
royalist  officer.  Several  had  been  already  made  prisoners 
in  the  first  sallies  which  the  citizens  had  ventured  beyond 
the  walls  ;  and,  among  the  rest,  the  Baron  de  Canolles, 
who  was  a  major  of  the  Navailles  regiment,  and  had  been 
the  commandant  of  St.  George's  Island.  He  was  a  hand- 
some and  courageous  young  man  of  about  six-and-thirty ; 
who,  since  his  imprisonment  at  Bordeaux,  had  been 
received  by  the  leading  families,  and  had  become  an  object 
of  universal  esteem.  He  was  at  the  house  of  a  lady  to 
whom  he  was  paying  his  addresses,  quietly  engaged  at 
cards,  when  he  was  arrested,  and  informed  that  he  was 
about  to  be  tried  by  a  council  of  war,  presided  by  the 
princess  and  the  Duke  d'Enghien.  The  fact  that  his  fate,  in 
a  great  degree,  depended  upon  a  woman  and  a  young  child, 
was  not  calculated  to  excite  much  apprehension,  either  in 
himself  or  his  friends  ;  but  their  presumed  security  was  bit- 
terly terminated  by  his  unanimous  condemnation.  He  died 
like  a  brave  man,  the  victim  of  policy  rathor  thnn  of  crime. 


322  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

With  the  life  of  Canolles  terminated,  as  a  natural  conse- 
quence, all  idea  of  capitulation  on  the  part  of  the  Bordeau- 
lese ;  for  the  deputies,  the  jurists,  and  the  public  compa- 
nies, had  alike  given  their  assent  to  this  act  of  retaliative 
cruelty.  Bordeaux  was  accordingly  besieged.  The  cardi- 
nal, who  was  present,  witnessed  the  operations  from  the 
belfry  of  Saint  Yvon  in  the  suburb ;  and  it  was  believed 
that  M.  de  la  Meilleraye  had  an  understanding  with  the 
enemy.  Be  that  as  it  may,  however,  and  there  is  no 
authentic  authority  for  the  assertion,  it  is  certain  that  this 
pigmy  war  was  fated  to  terminate  like  all  those  of  the  same 
period.  The  queen  wearied  of  the  siege,  and  so  did  the 
city;  and  after  a  very  respectable  display  of  valor  on  both 
sides,  propositions  of  reconciliation  were  received,  ready 
drawn  up  from  Paris,  which  were  submitted,  in  the  joint 
names  of  the  Duke  d'Oiieans  and  the  parliament,  to  the 
regent.  They  were  submitted  to  the  Bordeaulese,  by 
whom  they  were  accepted;  and  a  treaty  was  concluded, 
by  which  a  complete  amnesty  was  granted  to  the  inhabi- 
tants and  citizens  ;  the  princess  was  permitted  to  retire  to 
one  of  her  estates  ;  the  dukes  De  la  Rochefoucauld  and 
Bouillon  were  restored  to  favor,  with  all  surety  both  for 
their  lives  and  properties;  the  Duke  d'Epernon  was  re- 
called; and,  moreover,  the  princess  was  compelled  imme- 
diately to  leave  the  city,  in  order  to  make  room  for  the 
queen,  who  desired  to  command  there  in  her  turn,  though 
it  should  only  be  for  four-and-twenty  hours* 

Conquered  as  she  was,  the  spirit  of  Madame  de  Conde 
was,  nevertheless,  still  unsubdued  ;  she  was  struggling  to 
obtain  the  liberty  of  her  husband,  and  to  secure  the  inter- 
ests of  her  son  ;  and  she  had,  moreover,  although  only  for  a 
brief  period,  tasted  the  sweets  of  popularity  and  power, 
and  was  anxious  to  regain  a  portion  of  the  advantages 
which  she  had  lost.  Nor  was  her  hope  altogether  un- 
founded or  extravagant,  for  she  had  seen  the  leaders  of  the 
*   Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


THE   -COURT     Or     FRANCE.  323 

Fronde  selling  and  not  proffering  their  renewal  of  obe- 
dience :  and  she  resolved  to  profit  in  so  far  at  least  by  her 
own  display  of  disaffection,  as  to  make  one  bold  effort  to 
render  it  subservient  to  the  restoration  of  her  husband. 
She  had  received  permission  to  remain  for  a  few  days  at 
Coutras,  and  had  already  embarked  in  her  little  galley  to 
gain  that  town,  when  she  met  the  boat  of  M.  de  la  Meille- 
raye,  who  approached  her  to  offer  his  salutations,  and  to 
whom  she  stated,  acting  upon  a  sudden  impulse  engen- 
dered by  the  resolution  we  have  named,  that  she  was 
about  to  proceed  to  Bourges  to  pay  her  respects  to  the 
queen,  as  she  could  not  consent  to  retire  to  Coutras  till  she 
had  secured  the  honor  of  a  personal  interview  with  both 
the  kinsr  and  the  recent. 

The  marshal,  believing  that  such  a  step  might  tend  to 
terminate  the  affair  without  further  difficulty,  did  not  seek 
to  turn  her  from  her  purpose  ;  but  immediately  hastened 
himself  to  Bourges,  and  publicly  announced  to  Her  Maj- 
jesty  that  the  princess  was  awaiting  her  permission  to  throw 
herself  at  her  feet.  The  queen  instantly  replied  that  she 
could  not  receive  Madame  de  Conde,  having  no  apart- 
ments to  offer  her  ;  but  M.  de  la  Meilleraye  having  resolved, 
in  consonance  with  his  own  views,  that  the  meeting  should 
take  place,  answered  as  promptly,  that  rather  than  be  de- 
prived of  the  honor  which  she  solicited,  the  princess  would 
have  consented  to  sleep  on  board  her  galley,  had  it  been 
requisite  ;  but  that  such  a  necessity  did  not  exist,  as  he  was 
ready  to  offer  his  own  residence  for  her  reception. 

The  regent  had,  consequently,  no  alternative  ;  and  a 
messenger  was  accordingly  sent  to  the  water-side  to  bid 
her  welcome,  accompanied  by  Madame  de  la  Meilleraye ; 
and  meanwhile  the  queen  dispatched  a  gentleman  of  the 
court  to  summon  the  cardinal,  who,  as  soon  as  he  arrived, 
was  closeted  with  her  to  arrange  the  manner  in  which  the 
princess  should  be  received.  When  they  had  decided  upon 
their  line  of  action,  Madame  de  Conde  was  conducted  to 


324  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

the  presence  of  the  king,  the  queen,  and  Mazarin ;  and  a9 
soon  as  she  had  passed  the  threshold,  holding  her  little  son 
by  the  hand,  she  fell  upon  her  knees,  beseeching  the  liberty 
of  the  father  of  her  child  ;  appealing  to  the  mother  rather 
than  to  the  queen,  to  the  brother  rather  than  to  the  sov- 
ereign ;  and  expatiating  upon  the  misery  of  a  bereavement 
too  terrible  for  her  to  sustain.  Drowned  in  tears,  and  elo- 
quent in  all  the  dignity  of  a  holy  and  womanly  sorrow,  she 
admitted  the  error  into  which  she  had  been  deluded  by 
despair;  but  her  humility  and  her  submission  were  alike 
fruitless.  The  queen  approached  and  raised  her  from  the 
ground  with  a  courteous  and  inflexible  gentleness,  which 
betrayed  the  firmness  alike  of  her  nerves  and  of  her  resolu- 
tion ;  but,  even  while  in  the  act  of  doing  so,  resolutely 
refused  to  grant  her  prayer,  although  she  displayed  great 
urbanity  and  forbearance  toward  herself. 

The  account  given  by  Mademoiselle  of  this  interview 
is,  however,  too  characteristic  of  the  trifling  and  egotistical 
character  of  the  court  to  be  omitted.  "  The  princess  enter- 
ed," she  says  ;  "  she  had  been  bled  the  night  before,  which 
compelled  her  to  wear  a  scarf,  and  this  was  put  on  in  so 
ridiculous  a  manner,  as  well  as  all  the  rest  of  her  dress,  that 
the  queen  and  myself  had  great  difficulty  in  restraining  our 
laughter.  The  Duke  d'Enghien,  the  prettiest  child  in  the 
world,  was  with  her,  as  well  as  the  dukes  of  Bouillon  and 
La  Rochefoucauld."  * 

Nor  was  the  cardinal  less  demonstrative  in  his  politeness; 
but  hastened  to  invite  the  dukes  of  Bouillon  and  Roche- 
foucauld to  sup  with  him,  and  conveyed  them  to  his  residence 
in  his  own  coach.  Louis  XIV.,  boy  as  he  was,  had  looked 
on  during  the  affecting  scene  which  he  had  just  witnessed, 
almost  unmoved,  for  he  already  felt  extraordinary  resent- 
ment at  the  mock  which  had  been  made  of  the  royal  author- 
ity ;  and  it  is  even  asserted  by  the  Count  de  Bi-ienne,  that 
he  declared  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  during  the  siege  of  the 
*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  325 

city,  that  he  should  not  always  be  a  child ;  and  that  he 
would  one  day  chastise  the  rascally  Bordeaulese  as  they 
deserved. 

Two  days  after  the  departure  of  Madame  de  Conde,  the 
court  entered  Bordeaux ;  but  the  queen  was  not  fated, 
anxious  as  she  had  been  to  replace  the  princess  in  her  tem- 
porary reign,  to  find  the  hearts  of  her  citizens  so  accessible 
as  their  gates.  During  the  ten  days  which  she  passed  in 
the  city,  scarcely  an  individual  attended  her  receptions ; 
and  when  she  traversed  the  streets  no  notice  was  taken  of 
her  presence  ;  while  the  parliament,  after  having  sent  a 
deputation  to  the  Duke  d'Orleans,  to  testify  their  gratitude 
to  him  for  having  negotiated  the  peace,  paid  a  similar  mark 
of  respect  to  Mademoiselle,  which  greatly  annoyed  the 
cardinal,  who  dispatched  one  of  his  friends  to  entreat  her 
to  induce  them  to  pay  him  the  same  compliment;  but  it  is 
probable  that  she  did  not  testify  much  zeal  on  the  occasion, 
as  her  request  met  with  no  success.  During  these  move- 
ments in  the  rebel  city,  M.  de  Turenne  had  not  been  idle 
elsewhere.  He  had  advanced  to  Dammartin  (within  eight 
leagues  of  Pans),  while  the  archduke  had  arrived  at  Fimes; 
intelligence  which  so  alarmed  the  court  that  the  princes 
were  immediately  removed  from  Vincennes  to  Marcoussy, 
an  old  fortress  belonging  to  M.  d'Entragues.  The  next 
difficulty  was  to  raise  money ;  and  in  order  to  effect 
this,  it  was,  after  long  parliamentary  debates,  decided 
that  all  who  held  public  property,  of  whatever  description, 
should  pay  one  year's  income  to  the  state,  by  which  means 
a  tolerable  supply  was  immediately  procured,  as  well  as 
a  great  prospective  resource.  Among  others,  the  Duke 
d'Orleans  contributed  sixty  thousand  livres  to  the  public 
assessment. 

Nevertheless,  although  they  had  consented  to  this  impost, 
the  parliament  of  Paris  were  by  no  means  blind  to  the  fact 
that  it  had  been  entailed  upon  them  by  the  wrong-headed- 
ness  of  Mazarin,  who  had  dragged  the  sovereign  and  the 


320  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

court,  as  well  as  the  troops,  to  the  distance  of  a  hundred 
and  fifty  leagues  from  the  capital,  merely  to  make  war  upon 
a  provincial  city ;  while,  on  their  side,  the  parliament  of 
Bordeaux  had  presented  a  petition  for  the  liberation  of  the 
princes ;  and  despite  the  earnest  opposition  of  the  Duke 
d'Orleans,  who  was  terrified  at  the  bare  idea  of  seeing  M. 
de  Conde  again  free,  the  petition  was  received  and  deliber- 
ated upon. 

A  second  edition  of  the  Fronde  was  rapidly  preparing, 
composed  of  the  ancient  malcontents,  who  had  gained  noth- 
ing, or,  not  sufficient  to  satisfy  them,  by  their  late  submis- 
sion, and  Mazarinites,  who  had  not,  in  their  own  estimation, 
been  satisfactorily  remunerated  for  their  adhesion  to  his 
cause  ;  and  thus  it  will  at  once  be  seen  that  both  parties 
were  likely  to  make  virulent  and  pertinacious  adversaries. 
As  a  natural  consequence,  the  coadjutor  was  the  main-spring 
of  this  new  movement,  for  he  was  not  a  man  likely  to  forget 
the  affronts  offered  to  him  on  different  occasions  by  the  car- 
dinal ;  while  M.  de  Beaufort,  intoxicated  by  his  popularity, 
although  reestablished  in  court  favor,  preferred  his  mob- 
royalty  to  the  glitter  of  a  more  legitimate  circle,  where  he 
found  himself  only  a  subordinate. 

If,  indeed,  the  duke  had  entertained  any  suspicion  of 
the  decline  of  his  popularity,  it  was  soon  removed,  when, 
on  a  night-encounter  with  thieves  in  the  streets  of  the 
city,  his  carnage  was  stopped,  and  one  of  the  gentlemen 
of  his  suite  killed  by  a  pistol-shot ;  for  although  such 
adventures  were  common  enough  to  pass  almost  without 
remark  at  that  period,  the  people  refused  to  believe  that 
the  circumstance  was,  in  this  case,  accidental ;  and  openly 
accused  the  cardinal  of  having  instigated  the  assassination 
of  their  idol. 

Three  days  afterward  every  street  and  corner  was  pla- 
carded with  effigies  of  Mazarin  suspended  from  a  gibbet ; 
and  the  walls  were  still  covered  with  these  manifestations 
of  the  popular  feeling,  when,  on  the  15th  of  November, 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  327 

1650,  the  court  again  returned  to  Paris.  On  her  arrival  at 
Poitiers,  while  on  her  way  to  the  capital,  the  queen  was 
seized  with  fever,  and  was  reluctantly  compelled  to  lose 
blood  ;  hut  the  disease  continuing,  she  was  obliged  to  re- 
main for  eight  days  at  Amboise,  where  the  disease  increased 
to  an  extent  that  excited  considerable  apprehensions  for  her 
life.  This  delay  greatly  annoyed  the  cardinal,  who  had 
serious  reasons  for  wishing  to  find  himself  again  in  Paris,  as 
he  was  anxious  to  persuade  the  Duke  d'Orleans  to  consent 
to  the  removal  of  M.  de  Conde  to  Havre,  a  measure  which 
he  had  hitherto  refused  to  sanction ;  and  to  satisfy  himself 
by  personal  observation,  if  it  were  true,  as  he  had  been  in- 
formed, that  His  Royal  Highness  was  deeply  implicated  with 
the  new  faction. 

The  partial  reconciliation  which  had  taken  place  at  Bor- 
deaux between  the  queen  and  Madame  de  Conde,  as  well 
as  between  the  cardinal  and  the  two  rebel  dukes,  had  in 
some  degree  alarmed  the  Frondeurs  ;  who,  by  allying  them- 
selves with  the  court  had  sufficiently  strengthened  the  hands 
of  the  regent  to  enable  her  to  accomplish  the  arrest  of  the 
princes ;  and  they  accordingly  awaited  the  advent  of  the 
minister  with  a  petition,  by  the  nature  of  whose  reception 
they  should  be  at  once  enabled  to  judge  of  his  intentions 
and  to  regulate  their  own.  This  petition,  which  contained 
a  demand  for  a  seat  in  the  conclave  for  the  coadjutor,  was 
presented  to  the  queen  by  the  Duchess  de  Chevreuse,  but 
was  instantly  and  haughtily  rejected ;  and  even  on  the  ex- 
postulation of  the  Duke  d'Orleans,  who  strongly  advocated 
her  compliance,  she  refused  to  concede  more  than  that  she 
would  submit  the  demand  to  her  council,  and  be  guided  hy 
their  decision ;  a  reply  which  was  merely  a  civil  way  of 
ridding  herself  of  all  further  importunity,  as  she  was  aware 
that  it  was  composed  of  three  of  the  most  implacable  ene- 
mies of  M.  de  Retz — the  Count  de  Servien,  Le  Tellier,  and 
the  Marquis  de  Chateauneuf,  the  new  chancellor. 

This  last  offense  sufficed  to  exasperate  the   coadjutor, 


328  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

who  thenceforward  resolved  to  keep  no  further  measures 
with  Mazarin.  His  was  no  inactive  hate,  and  in  this  case 
the  weapon  lay  ready  to  his  hand.  He  joined  the  faction 
of  the  princes,  at  the  head  of  which  were  three  women  : 
for  the  singularity  of  this  national  struggle  was  to  endure 
to  the  last. 

These  women  were  Madame  de  Rhodes,  the  Princess 
Anne  de  Gonzague,  and  Mademoiselle  de  Chevreuse. 

As  these  ladies  were  destined  to  occupy  so  conspicuous 
a  position  as  that  of  the  leaders  of  a  great  national  faction, 
we  shall,  without  apology,  delay  for  a  brief  space  the  cur- 
rent of  the  narrative,  in  order  to  introduce  them  to  our 
readers. 

Madame  de  Rhodes  was  the  widow  of  a  simple  esquire, 
a  natural  son  of  the  famous  Louis,  Cardinal  de  Lorraine, 
whose  bigoted  intolerance  made  him  the  terror  of  the  Cal- 
vinists  of  his  day  ;  and  who  was  himself  the  son  of  Claude 
de  Lorraine,  the  first  duke  de  Guise,  and  was  bom  in 
1525.  As  a  specimen  of  the  ecclesiastical  pluralist  he  was 
probably  never  surpassed  in  any  church  or  in  any  centurv. 
He  was  Archbishop  of  both  Rheims  and  Narbonne;  Bishop 
of  Metz,  Tour,  Verdun,  Therouane,  Lucon,  and  Valance  ; 
Abbe  of  Marmoutiers,  Cluny,  St.  Denis,  Fecamp,  &c.  He 
was  admitted  to  a  seat  in  the  conclave  in  1547,  and  in  1561 
distinguished  himself  at  the  conference  of  Poissy,  where 
his  arguments  are  stated  by  his  party  to  have  triumphed 
over  those  of  Theodore  de  Beze.*  He  was  also  con- 
spicuous at  the  Council  of  Trent.  In  1573  he  founded  the 
University  of  Pont-a-Mousson;  and  in  the  following  year  he 
died. 

*  Theodore  de  Beze  was  a  celebrated  minister  of  the  Eeformed  relig- 
ion, who  was  born  at  Vezelay,  in  Nivernois,  in  1519,  and  died  at  Ge- 
neva in  1605.  He  took  an  active  part  in  all  the  events  of  the  civil  and 
religious  wars  in  France,  and  particularly  at  the  colloquy  of  Poissy. 
He  was,  after  Calvin,  the  head  of  the  Genevese  Church.  He  left  a  great 
number  of  works;  elegies,  epitaphs,  and  poems;  some  of  them  of  a  li- 
centious character. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  329 

The  Princess  Anne  de  Gonzague,  or,  as  she  was  com- 
monly called,  the  Princess-Palatine,  who  now  appeared 
politically  for  the  first  time,  was  a  genuine  heroine  of  ro- 
mance. She  was  the  second  of  the  three  daughters  of  Charles 
de  Gonzague,  Duke  of  Nevers  and  Mantua,  of  whom  the 
elder  (as  we  have  already  stated)  married  Uladislas  VII., 
king  of  Poland ;  while  the  younger  became  Superior  of 
the  Abbey  of  Avenay,  in  Champagne,  where  the  Duke 
Henry  de  Guise,  archbishop  of  Rhiems,  fell  in  love  with 
her.  but  subsequently  abandoned  her  after  an  accidental 
meeting  with  her  sister  Anne.  Withdrawn  from  France 
by  his  father,  Charles  de  Lorraine,  the  hare-brained  young 
prelate,  passed  several  years  in  Italy,  and  accomplished,  as 
has  been  already  shown,  the  conquest  of  Naples ;  but  soon 
wearied  by  the  monotony  of  his  exile,  he  proceeded  to 
Germany,  where  he  joined  the  army  of  the  emperor,  and 
conducted  himself  with  such  marked  and  chivalrous  cour- 
age, that  the  Knights  of  Malta,  who  had  formed  a  project 
for  conquering  the  island  of  St.  Domingo,  chose  him  as 
their  leader.  Exile  as  he  was,  however,  the  young  prince 
declined  to  embark  in  such  an  expedition  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  Cardinal  Richelieu,  which  was  refused;  when, 
as  both  his  elder  brothers  had  died,  he  next  solicited  per- 
mission to  return  to  court,  in  which  application  he  was 
more  successful ;  and  being  now  the  last  representative  of 
his  family,  he  reappeared  in  France  with  a  firm  determina- 
tion to  conduct  himself  in  a  way  which  would  compel  the 
cardinal  to  deprive  him  of  his  archbishopric.  Such  a  pro- 
ject offered  little  difficulty,  for  the  reputation  for  gallantry 
which  he  had  acquired  before  his  departure  was  by  no 
means  consistent  with  his  profession  ;  while  circumstances 
also  appeared  to  second  his  design ;  for,  although  the  poor 
young  Abbess  of  Avenay  had  already  been  dead  two  years, 
he  found  on  his  return  the  Princess  Anne,  if  possible,  more 
beautiful  than  he  had  left  her,  and  quite  inclined  to  return 
his  affection ;  upon  which  M.  de  Guise,  archbishop  as  he 


330  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

was,  paid  his  addresses  to  her  without  scruple,  and  at  length 
succeeded  in  convincing  her^  or,  at  least,  in  inducing  her  to 
appear  convinced,  that  by  virtue  of  some  peculiar  dispensa- 
tion, he  could  legally  become  her  husband ;  and  this  point 
gained,  one  of  the  canons  of  Rheims  united  them  in  the 
private  chapel  of  the  Hotel  de  Nevers. 

The  conspiracy  of  the  Count  de  Soissons,*  which  hap- 
pened soon  afterward,  proved  too  great  a  temptation  for 
the  turbulent  spirit  of  the  married  churchman  to  resist,  and 
he  was  accordingly  present  at  the  battle  of  Marfee  ;  but 
he  subsequently  withdrew  to  Sedan,  and  thence  passed 
into  Flanders,  where  he  again  entered  into  the  service  of 
the  emperor.  The  Princess  Anne  on  his  departure  also 
resolved  to  absent  herself;  and,  adopting  male  costume, 
she  proceeded  to  Besan^on,  in  order  to  follow  him  into 
Flanders ;  where,  as  well  as  elsewhere,  she  caused  herself 
to  be  called  Madame  de  Guise,  writing  and  speaking  of 
her  "  husband,"  and  defying  the  assurances  which  were 
constantly  advanced  of  the  illegality  of  her  marriage.  She 
did  not,  however,  long  pursue  her  journey ;  for  while  she 
was  residing  at  Besancon,  and  the  prince  at  Brussels,  she 
learned  that  he  had  fallen  in  love  with  the  Countess  de 
Bossut,t  whom  he  had,  moreover,  married ;  upon  which 
the  princess  returned  at  once  to  Paris,  and  resumed  her 
name  of  Anne  de  Gonzague,  as  though  nothing  had  occur- 
red ;  while  her  faithless  lover,  declared  criminal  of  lese-ma- 
jeste,  quietly  awaited  the  death  of  Louis  XIII.  and  his 
minister,  to  resume  his  court  career. 

*  Louis  de  Bourbon,  Count  de  Soissons,  when  compelled  to  fly  from 
France  for  an  abortive  attempt  to  destroy  Richelieu,  took  refuge  in 
Sedan,  where  he  entered  into  a  treaty  with  the  house  of  Austria  against 
the  French  king,  and  defeated  the  Marshal  de  Chatillon  at  the  battle 
of  Marfee;  but  his  victory  availed  him  nothing;  for,  near  the  close  of 
the  fight,  he  was  found  dead  upon  the  field,  under  a  serious  suspicion 
of  having  met  his  death  by  unfair  means. 

t  Honoria  de  Glimes,  daughter  of  Geoffry,  Count  de  Grimberg.  and 
widow  of  Albert  Maximilian  de  Henrien,  Count  de  Bossut. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  33 1 

Recalled  by  the  queen,  lie  required  no  second  summons, 
but  immediately  quitted  Brussels,  leaving  a  letter  for  the 
countess,  in  which  he  stated  that  he  had  been  anxious  to 
spare  her  the  pain  of  a  last  interview,  but  that  when  he 
had  formed  an  establishment  worthy  of  her  in  Paris,  he 
would  at  once  write  to  her  to  join  him.  He  did  in  fact 
write  again ;  but  instead  of  appointing  a  period  for  their 
meeting,  he  informed  her  in  the  most  courteous  terms,  that 
he  had  really  believed  himself  to  be  her  legal  husband  at 
the  period  of  their  marriage,  but  that  since  his  return  to 
France,  so  many  of  the  most  learned  and  competent  au- 
thorities had  assured  him  that  she  was  not  his  wife,  that  he 
had  at  length  been  compelled  to  admit  the  fact.  A  few 
years  subsequently,  the  Princess  Anne,  in  her  turn,  con- 
tracted a  second,  and  an  equally  secret  marriage,  with  the 
Prince  Leon  or,  one  of  the  younger  brothers  of  the  Elector- 
Palatine,  by  which  she  excited  the  displeasure  of  the  court. 
She  was,  however,  pardoned  through  the  intervention  of 
the  Queen  of  England,  and  again  returned  to  the  capital ; 
where,  as  her  husband  was  extremely  ugly,  and  violently 
jealous,  she  was  obliged  to  represent  to  him  that  it  was 
essential  to  his  interest  for  her  to  appear  in  the  gay  world, 
before  she  could  induce  him  to  permit  her  to  return  to 
the  life  of  pleasure  and  dissipation  which  was  essential 
to  her  happiness.  As  he  was  wretchedly  poor,  he  yielded 
to  this  crowning  argument;  and  during  the  Fronde,  she 
attached  herself  warmly  to  Madame  de  Longueville  and 
the  Prince  de  Conti. 

The  identity  of  Mademoiselle  de  Chevreuse  has  been 
shown  elsewhere ;  and  the  fact,  that,  after  having  assisted 
her  mother  in  the  arrest  of  the  princes,  she  had  now  joined 
their  faction,  arose  from  circumstances  which  will  be  pres- 
ently explained. 

The  other  leading  members  of  the  cabal  were  the  Duke 
de  Nemours,  the  president  Viole,  and  Isaac  d'Arnaud,  the 
colonel  of  the  carabineers ;  while  Monsieur,  with  his  usual 


332  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

cautious  cowardice,  had  quietly  insinuated  himself  into  the 
interests  of  the  party,  in  order  to  provide  for  himself  a 
means  of  escape  from  the  vengeance  of  the  prince  when 
he  should  recover  his  liberty  ;  and  the  coadjutor  was  placed 
in  correspondence  with  the  Princess-Palatine  by  Madame 
de  Rhodes,  and  Mademoiselle  de  Chevreuse.  Their  plans 
were  arranged  in  one  meeting :  Mazarin  was  to  be  over- 
thrown, the  princes  released  from  prison,  the  coadjutor  cre- 
ated cardinal,  and  the  hand  of  Mademoiselle  de  Chevreuse 
given  to  the  Prince  de  Conti.  A  treaty  was  signed  to  this 
effect ;  but  it  of  course  remained  nugatory,  until  ratified 
by  the  additional  signature  of  the  Duke  d'Orleans.* 

The  court  did  not  find  Monsieur  at  Orleans  to  meet  them 
as  they  had  anticipated,  nor  even  M.  le  Tellier,  whom, 
however,  they  afterward  encountered  on  the  road ;  but  he 
brought  them  little  consolation,  for  he  could  not  even  as- 
sure them  that  His  Royal  Highness  would  come  as  far  as 
Fontainebleau,  or  that  his  views  coincided  with  their  own ; 
and  they  had  already  been  domesticated  in  that  palace  for 
four  days  before  the  arrival  of  M.  de  Chateauneuf,  who 
brought  an  assurance  that  Monsieur  would  follow  him,  and 
who,  as  he  was  in  the  interests  of  the  coadjutor  (now  rap- 
idly becoming  a  favorite  with  the  unstable  prince),  prided 
himself  upon  a  knowledge  of  the  movements  of  Gaston. 
Satisfied  that  he  was  in  fact  coming,  although  somewhat 
tardily,  the  cardinal  went  to  meet  him ;  and  feeling  how 
greatly  the  adhesion  of  the  prince  must  affect  the  welfare 
of  his  party,  Mazarin  overwhelmed  him  with  respect  and 
attention ;  but  Monsieur  no  sooner  found  himself  in  the 
presence  of  the  queen,  than  he  vehemently  expressed  his 
displeasure  at  the  removal  of  M.  de  Conde  from  Vincennes; 
which  had  taken  place  without  his  sanction,  and  in  express 
contradiction  to  the  plighted  word  of  the  regent,  who  had, 
in  his  presence,  commanded  M.  de  Bar,  to  whose  custody 
the  princes  had  been  committed,  not  either  to  liberate,  or 
*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  383 

to  remove  them  without  the  joint  authority  of  herself  and 
His  Royal  Highness.  Moreover  the  duke,  whose  distrust- 
ful nature  often  rendered  him  clear-sighted,  readily  under- 
stood that  their  projected  transfer  to  Havre,  which  had 
just  been  mooted,  was  merely  with  a  view  of  placing  them 
where  they  would  be  in  the  absolute  and  undivided  power 
of  the  cardinal,  who  could  accordingly  make  them  service- 
able in  a  moment  of  necessity ;  a  precaution  which  was,  at 
least,  a  wise  one ;  as  in  the  very  probable  contingency  of  a 
new  want  of  popularity,  he  would  thus  be  enabled  to  se- 
cure the  services  of  the  prince  by  restoring  him  to  liberty ; 
and  his  previous  career  had  rendered  him  too  formidable 
an  enemy  for  the  city  to  contend  against.  Mademoiselle 
relates  that,  when  she  went  to  visit  him  in  his  private  apart- 
ments at  Fontainebleau,  she  found  him  in  a  state  of  great 
excitement  and  anger;  so  much  so  that  he  emptied  his 
heart  to  her  without  reserve,  and  told  her  that  whatever 
means  were  adopted  to  obtain  his  consent  to  such  an  ar- 
rangement, he  would  never  give  it ;  and  that  the  suspicions 
which  were  entertained  of  the  cardinal's  motives  for  the 
proposition  were  calculated  to  augment  the  disaffection  al- 
ready existing;  that  the  parliament  would  become  more 
determined  Frondeurs  than  ever ;  and  that  he  was  resolved 
henceforward  never  to  interfere  in  any  public  measures. 
He  also  refused  to  visit  the  queen  throughout  the  day  ;  but, 
ultimately,  after  several  messengers  had  been  dispatched  to 
urge  his  presence,  he  consented  to  wait  upon  her  in  the 
evening. 

This  interview,  however,  far  from  producing  the  effect 
which,  from  his  known  vacillation  of  character,  had  been 
anticipated  by  the  regent,  only  tended  to  increase  the  bit- 
terness on  both  sides ;  and  they  separated  mutually  dissat- 
isfied. 

The  cardinal  sent  at  daybreak  to  Mademoiselle  to  en- 
treat her  to  see  Monsieur,  and  to  endeavor  to  detain  him  at 
court;  but  she  failed  in  her  mission,  as,  for  once,  he  re- 


334  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

mained  firm  to  his  purpose.  At  his  parting  interview 
with  the  queen,  she  informed  him  that  she  had  dispatched 
Count  d'Harcourt  to  escort  the  princes  from  Marcoussy 
to  Havre ;  adding,  that  although  he  would  not  give  his 
jonsent  to  the  measure,  the  interest  of  the  king  exacted  it, 
and  it  should  be  earned  out.  In  reply,  Monsieur  coldly 
remarked,  that  the  king  had  a  right  to  act  as  he  saw  fit, 
but  that  such  was  not  his  own  opinion ;  and  in  this  spirit 
he  departed  for  Paris,  thoroughly  out  of  temper  with  the 
court,  which  followed  the  next  day. 

Angry  and  irritated  as  he  was,  however,  the  duke  by  no 
means  wished  seriously  to  commit  himself  with  the  oppo- 
site faction ;  and,  accordingly,  when  the  treaty,  to  which 
we  have  alluded  above,  was  placed  in  his  hands,  he  en- 
deavored to  elude  the  necessity  of  rendering  it  valid  by  his 
own  signature.  But  he  had  to  deal  with  women  who  were 
well  acquainted  with  the  most  salient  points  of  his  charac- 
ter ;  and  who  were  well  aware  that,  so  long  as  he  remain- 
ed uncommitted,  they  and  their  friends  were  in  peril  from 
his  vacillation  and  perpetual  perfidy ;  and,  at  length,  after 
watching,  pursuing,  and  tracking  him,  they  surprised  him 
at  a  moment  when  he  could  not  escape,  and  put  a  pen  into 
his  hand  ;  when,  finally,  "  Gaston  signed,"  said  Mademoi- 
selle de  Chevreuse,  "  as  if  he  were  ratifying  the  compact 
of  a  witch's  sabbath,  and  was  afraid  of  being  detected  by 
his  good  angel." 

Charles  II.,  who  had  just  been  compelled  to  retire  from 
Holland,  arrived  about  this  time  (13th  Sept.,  1650)  at  Paris, 
attended  by  one  solitary  nobleman,  who  acted  at  once  as 
his  chamberlain,  valet-de-chambre,  equerry  of  the  kitchen, 
and  cup-bearer;  nor  had  he  changed  his  linen  since  he 
commenced  his  journey.  Lord  Germain  lent  him  a  shirt 
on  his  arrival ;  but  the  queen,  his  mother,  did  not  possess 
money  enough  to  supply  him  with  a  second  for  the  next 
day.  Monsieur  having  paid  him  a  visit,  the  coadjutor  en- 
deavored to  induce  him  to  supply  the  imhRppy  fugitive  with 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  335 

funds ;  but  he  was  unable  to  wring  a  sous  from  him  for 
such  a  purpose.  A  little,  he  said,  would  not  suffice,  as  such 
an  offering  would  be  unworthy  both  of  himself  and  the  En- 
glish monarch  ;  while,  if  he  gave  a  large  sum  it  would  com- 
promise him  for  the  future  ;*  and  thus  disappointed  and 
unaided,  Charles,  after  spending  a  short  time  in  France, 
where  he  received  no  assistance,  and  very  little  civility, 
again  retired  to  Jersey,  where  his  authority  was  still  ac- 
knowledged.t 

*  Memoires  du  Cardinal  de  Retz.  t  Ryder's  England. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

The  Battle  of  Rethel — Death  of  the  Dowager-Princess  de  Conde — Re- 
monstrance of  the  Parliament  on  the  Imprisonment  of  the  Princes — 
Quarrel  of  the  Duke  d'Orleans  and  the  Cardinal — Misgivings  of  Made- 
moiselle— Reconciliation  between  Mademoiselle  and  Conde — Maza- 
rin  offers  the  hand  of  Louis  XIV.  to  Mademoiselle — The  Cardinal 
foiled — The  interpolated  Factum — Energy  of  Gaston  d'Orleans — 
Alarm  of  the  Court — Evasion  of  the  Cardinal — Riot  in  the  Capital — 
Mademoiselle  de  Chevreuse  and  the  Duchesse  d'Orleans — Pusilla- 
nimity of  Monsieur — Seizure  of  the  City  Gates  by  the  Frondeurs — 
The  Populace  in  the  Palais-Royal — M.  Desbuches  in  the  royal  Cham- 
ber— Mazarin  at  Havre — Emancipation  of  the  Princes ;  their  Arrival 
in  Paris. 

Mazarin,  whom  the  war  in  Guienne  had  infected  with  3 
thirst  for  triumph,  shortly  afterward  left  Paris  for  Cham- 
pagne, and  was  present  at  the  retaking  of  Rethel,  of  which 
Marshal  Turenne  had  rendered  himself  master;  but,  sub- 
sequently, M.  du  Plessis-Praslin,*  who  was  in  command 
of  the  troops,  fought  the  battle  of  Somme-Puy,  where  he 
made  a  great  number  of  prisoners  ;  while  Turenne  himself 
escaped  with  considerable  difficulty.  Mazarin  insisted  that 
this  encounter  should  be  designated  as  the  Battle  of  Rethel ; 
because,  as  he  was  himself  in  the  town,  it  might  be  believed 
that  the  victory  had  been  obtained  through  his  agency,  al- 
though Rethel  was,  in  fact,  at  the  distance  of  two  leagues 
from  the  field. 

The  warlike  cardinal  had,  however,  scarcely  passed  the 
gates  of  Paris,  when  fresh  hostilities  commenced  against 

*  Caesar  de  Choiseuil,  du  Plessis-Praslin,  Duke  and  Peer  of  France, 
was  created  marshal  in  1645,  and  gained,  in  1648,  the  battle  of  Fran- 
cheron;  and  in  1650,  that  of  Rethel  against  Marshal  Turenne,  who  at 
that  period  commanded  the  Spanish  army.     He  died  at  Paris  in  1673. 


LOUIS  XIV.  AND  THE  COURT  OP  FRANCE.  337 

him ;  and  a  petition  was  presented  to  the  parliament  by 
the  princess,  praying  that  the  princes  might  be  set  at  lib- 
erty, or,  at  least,  put  upon  their  trial,  and  transferred  for 
that  purpose  from  Havre  to  the  Louvre,  where  they  might 
be  guarded  by  an  officer  of  the  king's  household.  This 
was  the  precise  moment  in  which  the  Duke  d'Orleans  could, 
with  the  greatest  dignity,  have  declared  himself,  but  his 
heart  failed  him ;  and  he  caused  it  to  be  reported  that  he 
was  indisposed. 

At  the  same  period,  news  arrived  of  the  death  of  the 
Princess-Dowager  at  Chatillon,  after  a  long  period  of  suf- 
fering. The  report  was  general  that  she  had  died  heart- 
broken, and  pining  once  more  to  embrace  her  children  ;  but 
Mademoiselle,  with  the  flippancy  for  which  she  was  pro- 
verbial on  all  serious  subjects,  asserts,  that  "  she  died  in 
the  most  beautiful  and  Christian  sentiments  imaginable ; 
she  had  lived  during  her  last  years  with  great  devotion, 
which  even  caused  her  to  abandon  the  interest  of  her  son, 
cither  because  she  was  quite  resigned,  or  that  she  cared 
less  for  him.  The  prince,"  she  adds,  "  knew  the  real 
cause ;  and,  as  for  me,  I  shall  give  no  opinion."  And  this 
was  all  the  regret  expressed  at  court  for  the  old,  and  tried, 
and  affectionate  friend  of  the  regent,  whom  she  had  sent 
to  her  grave,  solitary,  childless,  and  heart-broken  ! 

The  deliberations  on  the  petition  of  the  younger  princess 
had  just  commenced,  notwithstanding  the  absence  of  Mon- 
sieur from  the  meeting ;  and  the  deputies  were  busy  in  at- 
tributing to  the  foreign  minister  all  the  troubles,  both  public 
and  private  by  which  the  country  was  harassed,  when  a 
courier  arrived  in  Paris,  bringing  tidings  of  the  victory  of 
Rethel,  and  the  defeat  of  Turenne.  Monsieur,  so  soon  as 
they  reached  him,  roused  himself  sufficiently  from  his  sud- 
den attack  of  illness  to  pay  a  visit  of  congratulation  to  the 
queen,  whom  he  found  rejoicing  in  the  belief  that  the  friends 
of  M.  de  Conde  would  be  terror-stricken  on  learning  that  his 
forces  had  been  defeated  ;  but  she  had  miscalculated  the 

vol.  i. — O 


yytj  LUU1S     XIV.     AND 

effect  which  the  event  really  tended  to  produce,  and  this 
was  a  dread  lest  Mazarin  should  avail  himself  of  the  circum- 
stance ;  an  apprehension  which  strengthened  them  in  their 
resolution  to  support  the  prince,  in  order  to  be  relieved, 
through  his  agency,  of  their  most  obnoxious  enemy. 

On  the  30th  of  December,  a  decree  was  passed  that  very 
humble  remonstrances  should  be  made  to  the  king  and  the 
regent,  on  the  subject  of  the  imprisoned  princes,  and  that 
their  liberty  should  be  demanded ;  but  the  cardinal,  who 
had  been  warned  by  the  queen  that  a  new  cabal  was  form- 
ing against  him  in  his  absence,  returned  with  all  speed  to 
Paris,  which  he  entered  on  the  following  day,  full  of  triumph 
and  exultation,  and  in  the  highest  spirits.  Anne  of  Aus- 
tria was  still  suffering  from  the  same  illness  which  had 
attacked  her  at  Poitiers,  and  could  not  leave  her  bed. 
Nevertheless,  there  was  great  gayety  at  court ;  and  Made- 
moiselle expatiates  with  considerable  complaisance  upon 
the  balls  and  galas,  as  well  as  on  the  renewed  intention  of 
Monsieur  to  accomplish  her  marriage  at  the  first  convenient 
opportunity.  Meanwhile  the  parliament  continued  to  urge 
the  emancipation  of  the  princes  -with  such  untiring  energy, 
that  the  court  was  at  length  compelled  to  reply  ;  and  Mon- 
sieur, whose  views  had  once  more  changed  upon  the  sub- 
ject, expostulated  so  pressingly  with  the  queen  upon  the 
danger  and  impolicy  of  continuing  their  captivity,  that  the 
alarmed  and  exasperated  cardinal  made  a  speech  in  reply, 
which  so  enraged  the  duke,  that  he  declared  to  the  regent 
he  would  never  again  set  foot  in  her  council-chamber  while 
that  person  was  admitted  there.  The  feud  was  now  an 
overt  one ;  the  swords  had  been  drawn,  and  nothing 
remained  but  to  fling  away  the  scabbards. 

The  following  morning,  Goulas,  the  secretary  of  Mon- 
sieur, who  was  about  to  accompany  M.  de  Lionne  to  Havre, 
to  treat  with  the  prince  on  the  subject  of  his  liberation, 
waited  upon  Mademoiselle,  and  complained  bitterly  of 
the  bad  policy  of  his  master  in  quarreling  with  the  cardi- 


THE     Cut"  R  T     U  F     F  R  A  N  C  E.  339 

nal  at  such  a  moment ;  a  proceeding  by  which  he  had 
complicated  the  difficulties  of  the  question,  and  compelled 
the  ministers  to  liberate  M.  de  Conde,  who  would  feel  no 
obligation  to  the  court  for  a  concession  to  which  he  must 
be  aware  that  they  had  been  forced.  Mademoiselle 
hurried  to  her  father  to  represent  this  fact ;  but  the  only 
reply  which  she  could  extort  from  him  was  to  the  effect 
that  he  would  never  again  sit  in  council  with  Mazarin,  be 
the  consequences  what  they  might.  Mademoiselle  con- 
fesses that  she  was  by  no  means  sorry  he  had  come  to 
such  a  resolution,  although  she  was  inimical  to  the  prince 
personally  ;  for  she  loved  Monsieur  so  much  that  she  was 
glad  to  see  him  undertake  two  such  important  matters  as 
the  release  of  M.  de  Conde,  and  the  overthrow  of  a  minis- 
ter from  whom  he  had  received  an  affront.  "  But,"  she, 
says,  as  if  still  doubting  whether  this  sudden  belligerent 
impulse  would  stand  the  test  of  time  and  difficulty,  "  the 
fear  that  I  felt,  lest  he  should  grow  tired  of  the  trouble 
which  such  an  affair  must  necessarily  engender,  and  that  he 
would  not  carry  it  through,  gave  me  the  greatest  uneasi- 
ness."* 

Resolved,  however,  to  throw  no  extra  impediment  in  his 
way,  she  made  a  resolution  to  overcome  her  puerile  and 
causeless  animosity  toward  the  prince ;  and,  in  conse- 
quence, exerted  all  her  courtesy  in  order  to  render  herself 
agreeable  to  his  friends,  who,  at  this  conjuncture,  crowded 
to  pay  their  respects  to  His  Royal  Highness  ;  in  this  spirit, 
she  also  sought  an  interview  with  Guitaut,  who  was,  as 
she  knew,  devoted  to  the  interests  of  M.  de  Conde,  and 
much  in  his  confidence,  and  who  had  been  of  great  service 
to  him  during  his  imprisonment ;  and  to  him  she  expressed 
her  firm  resolution  to  live  upon  more  friendly  terms  in 
future,  not  only  with  the  prince  himself,  but  also  with  all 
his  family,  than  she  had  hitherto  done,  regretting  that  she 
had  not  before  decided  on  the  same  line  of  conduct.  This 
*   Mernoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


,'j  1 J  L  O  L  1  ri     XIV.     A  N  D 

assurance  was  joyfully  received  ;  and  Guitaut,  in  his  turn, 
impressed  upon  her  the  respect  and  friendship  with  which 
the  whole  house  of  Conde  had  invariably  regarded  her 
person,  and  the  grief  which  they  had  felt  at  her  previous 
coldness  and  disinclination  toward  themselves. 

The  cardinal  had  not  been  many  hours  in  Paris  before 
he  was  quite  conscious  of  the  ground  that  he  had  lost 
during  his  absence,  and  of  the  defections  which  had  taken 
place  in  his  party,  among  which  that  of  Monsieur  was  the 
most  important ;  and  he  resolved  in  consequence  to  direct 
his  first  efforts  toward  a  reconciliation  with  that  prince  ; 
but  Monsieur  was  always  firm  when  his  firmness  involved 
neither  danger  nor  exertion,  and  he  was,  therefore,  thor- 
oughly inaccessible  to  all  his  overtures.  Either  His 
Royal  Highness  was  sick,  or  he  was  sulky,  or  he  was  dis- 
satisfied ;  and  these  were  not  the  moods  in  which  he  could 
be  driven  from  his  purpose.  Mazarin,  consequently,  felt 
that  he  must  strike  a  grand  blow  in  order  to  overcome 
this  unwonted  persistence  ;  and  in  the  extremity  of  the 
moment  he  could  think  of  nothing  moi'e  likely  to  conduce 
to  his  object  than  that  of  reviving  the  everlasting  subject 
of  the  marriage  of  Mademoiselle,  in  a  manner  which  he 
believed  could  not  fail  to  produce  an  immediate  reconcilia- 
tion. 

"With  this  view,  therefore,  Mademoiselle  de  Neuillant,* 
one  of  the  maids  of  honor  to  the  queen,  was  ordered  to 
wait  upon  Mademoiselle,  and  to  offer  to  her,  on  the  part 
of  His  Eminence,  the  hand  of  the  young  king,  on  condition 
that  she  should  prevent  Monsieur  from  joining  the  faction 
of  the  princes.  Whether  Mademoiselle  was  really  too 
keen-sighted  to  be  duped,  and  suspected  the  sincerity  of  the 
proposal ;  or  whether,  as  is  extremely  possible,  she  consid- 
ered that  the  great  difference  of  age  between  herself  and 
Louis  XIV.  rendered  such  an  alliance  almost  impossible, 
it  is  certain  that  the  ambassadress  could  not  induce  her  to 
*  Afterward  Duchess  cle  Navailles. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  341 

be  serious  upon  the  subject ;  but,  after  having  exhausted 
all  her  eloquence,  was  answered  only  by  a  light  laugh,  and 
the  remark  that  His  Royal  Highness  and  herself  had 
pledged  their  word  to  M.  de  Conde,  and  were  resolved  to 
keep  it.  This  "  incredible  levity,"  as  Madame  de  Motte- 
ville  designates  it,  produced  from  Mademoiselle  de  Neuil- 
lant  the  spirited  retort  of — "  For  heaven's  sake,  Mademoi- 
selle, first  make  yom-self  a  queen,  and  then  you  can 
release  the  princes." 

But  she  urged  in  vain :  Mademoiselle  would  vouch- 
safe no  other  reply  ;  and  thus  once  more,  despite  all  her 
innate  ambition,  the  princess  suffered  a  crown  to  escape 
her. 

The  cardinal  was  foiled  ;  and  his  uneasiness  increased 
tenfold  as  he  reflected  that  Monsieur  must  indeed  be  deeply 
compromised  to  resist  such  a  proposition.  For  the  first 
time  in  his  life,  Gaston  d'Orleans  remained  faithful  to  the 
party  he  had  adopted ;  and  M.  de  Retz  had  all  the  credit 
of  his  inflexibility.  Meanwhile  the  illustrious  prisoners 
were  made  promptly  acquainted  with  every  event  which 
occured  in  Paris,  and  themselves  directed  the  measures 
which  were  progressing  to  effect  their  release.  Their  cor- 
respondence with  their  friends  was  carried  on  by  means 
of  double  louis-d'ors  hollowed  out,  in  which  the  letters 
were  concealed ;  but  every  requisition  of  the  parliament 
for  their  release  was  met  by  subterfuge  and  evasion  ;  until 
the  regent  finally  referred  the  deputies  to  the  keeper  of 
the  seals,  who,  chancing  to  have  a  severe  cold  which  greatly 
impeded  his  articulation,  handed  his  factum  to  the  president 
to  read,  without  remarking  that  it  had  been  interpolated  by 
the  queen  herself;  and  that,  among  other  accusations 
against  sundry  individuals,  there  occurred  a  violent  vituper- 
ation of  the  coadjutor,  in  which  she  had  inserted  the 
words,  "  he  lied." 

The  reading  of  such  a  document  in  a  public  meeting 
naturally  produced  a  formidable  effect  ;     it  was  oil  flung 


342  LOUIS    XIV.     AND 

upon  flame,  and  the  struggle  thenceforward  became  one  of 
life  and  death  between  the  cardinal  and  M.  de  Retz  ;  who, 
at  length  goaded  beyond  his  patience,  sprang  into  the  tri- 
bune, and  made  a  violent  speech  against  Mazarin ;  which 
he  concluded  by  exhorting  the  parliament  to  offer  their 
humble  entreaties  to  the  king,  immediately  to  forward  an 
order  for  the  release  of  the  princes,  as  well  as  a  declaration 
of  their  innocence  ;  and,  moreover,  to  banish  alike  from 
his  presence  and  his  councils  the  Cardinal  Mazarin.  He 
also  urged  the  propriety  of  holding  a  new  meeting  on  the 
following  Monday,  to  receive  whatever  reply  it  might 
please  His  Majesty  to  make  to  the  deputies;  a  proposal 
which  was  welcomed  with  acclamation,  and  met  with  a 
unanimous  assent. 

In  this  emergency,  the  queen  sent  the  Count  de  Brienne 
to  Monsieur,  to  invite  him  to  an  interview ;  but  the  coadju- 
tor, who  for  the  moment  had  entirely  subjugated  the  will  of 
the  unstable  prince,  caused  him  to  reply  that  he  would 
perform  his  habitual  duty  to  the  regent  when  the  princes 
were  liberated  and  the  cardinal  banished  from  her  presence. 
Nor  did  he  stop  there ;  for  he  summoned  the  Marshal  de 
Villeroy  and  the  Secretary  of  State,  declaring  to  the  former 
that  he  should  hold  him  responsible  for  the  safe  keeping  of 
the  king,  and  commanding  him,  by  his  authority  as  lieuten  ant- 
general  of  the  kingdom,  to  obey  no  orders  but  his  own  ; 
while  he  imposed  at  the  same  time  upon  Le  Tellier  a  strin- 
gent injunction  not  to  forward  any  dispatch,  of  whatever 
description,  until  he  had  himself  taken  cognizance  of  its  con- 
tents, and  directed  the  civic  officers  to  hold  their  arms  in 
readiness  for  the  king's  service  ;  absolutely  forbidding  them 
to  obey  any  orders  save  those  which  they  would  receive 
from  himself. 

The  queen  had  been  totally  unprepared  for  demonstra- 
tions such  as  these ;  and  the  whole  palace  was  in  conster- 
nation. Many  of  the  courtiers  advised  Mazarin  to  retire 
to  a  fortress;   while   four  of  the  marshals,  who  were  in- 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  343 

debted  to  him  for  their  dignity,  and  who  would  not  desert 
him,  proposed  to  march  a  strong  body  of  troops  into  the 
city,  to  garrison  the  whole  neighborhood  of  the  Palais-Royal, 
and  to  hold  out  against  the  Duke  d'Orleans ;  but  all  these 
violent  measures  were  rejected  both  by  the  queen  and  the 
cardinal,  as  involving  a  risk  far  greater  than  the  probability 
of  success. 

In  the  midst  of  this  uncertainty  the  Duchess  de  Chev- 
reuse  arrived  at  the  Palais-Royal.  As  the  extent  of  her 
intrigue  with  the  coadjutor  was  unknown ;  and  as  in  their 
embarrassment  the  regent  and  her  minister  were  asking 
advice  of  all  around  them,  she  was  appealed  to  in  her  turn ; 
and  without  an  instant's  hesitation  she  counseled  the  cardi- 
nal to  absent  himself  from  Paris  until  the  danger  with  which 
he  was  then  threatened  should  have  passed  by  :  adding  that, 
during  his  temporary  absence,  she  would  exert  all  her  in- 
fluence with  Mojisieur  to  effect  a  reconciliation  between 
them  ;  and  that  she  did  not  despair,  when  the  release  of  the 
princes  had  once  taken  place,  of  rendering  the  duke  much 
more  favorably  disposed  toward  His  Eminence.  This 
advice,  perfidious  as  it  was,  appeared  to  be  so  much  the 
most  reasonable  which  they  had  yet  received,  that  both  the 
queen  and  Mazarin  resolved  to  adopt  it;  and  the  latter,  whose 
terror  had  rendered  him  almost  imbecile  at  this  conjunct- 
ure, and  who  had  lost  all  power  of  self-reliance,  was  so 
delighted  with  the  idea  of  escaping  from  the  neighborhood 
of  his  enemies,  that  he  declared  his  intention  of  starting  that 
very  night  for  Havre  to  effect  the  liberation  of  the  princes ; 
for  which  purpose  he  received  a  private  order  from  the 
queen  to  M.  de  Bar,  commanding  that  functionary  punctu- 
ally to  credit  and  to  obey  all  that  the  cardinal  should  declare 
to  him  touching  her  intention  of  releasing  the  prisoners;  and 
enjoining  him  to  attend  to  no  other  and  subsequent  order 
which  he  might  receive,  whether  from  the  king  her  son,  or 
from  herself. 

Furnished  with  this  authority,  the  cardinal   contrived  to 


.'ill  LOUIS     XIV.    AND 

recover  at  least  external  composure ;  and  when  he  waited 
upon  the  queen  in  the  evening,  as  was  his  custom,  he  con- 
versed with  her  for  a  considerable  time  without  betraying 
any  extraordinary  uneasiness ;  while  the  self-possession  of 
the  regent  was  less  remarkable,  as  she,  on  every  occasion, 
manifested  considerable  presence  of  mind.  Nevertheless, 
the  calm  within  the  palace  must  have  been  more  than  once 
disturbed  by  the  riot  without,  for  the  populace  were  swarm- 
ing in  the  streets,  and  cries  of  no  favorable  omen  reechoed 
on  all  sides.  Warned  by  these  hostile  demonstrations,  and 
anxious  to  escape  their  threatened  results,  at  ten  o'clock  the 
cardinal  took  leave  of  the  queen  and  her  circle  ;  but  still 
without  any  more  apparent  demonstration  than  he  would 
have  exhibited  had  he  anticipated  that  he  should  rejoin  them 
the  next  day ;  and  this  done,  hastened  to  his  apartments, 
where  he  exchanged  his  ecclesiastical  costume  for  a  scarlet 
vest  and  gray  trunk  hose,  and  taking  in  his  hand  a  hat  and 
plume,  left  the  Palais-Royal  on  foot,  followed  only  by  two 
of  his  suite.  At  the  Richelieu  gate,  another  gentleman  of 
his  household  was  awaiting  him  with  horses  ;  and  two  houra 
afterward  he  was  at  St.  Germain,  where  he  halted  for  the 
night* 

The  regent  played  her  part  admirably.  Surprised  and 
alarmed  as  she  was,  she  never  suffered  these  feelings  to 
appear,  but  remained  in  conversation  with  those  about  her 
until  the  usual  hour  of  their  dismissal;  while  Mademoiselle, 
who  was  aware  of  the  flight  of  the  cardinal,  but  who  had 
risen  early  on  that  day  in  order  to  have  an  interview  with 
Monsieur  before  the  meeting  of  parliament,  at  once  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Tuileries ;  and  was  about  to  retire  to  rest, 
when  she  was  informed  that  there  was  a  great  disturbance 
in  the  city,  and  hurrying  to  one  of  the  terraces  which  com- 
manded a  view  in  several  directions,  she  saw  (for  the  night 
was  clear  and  the  moon  bright),  that  a  gate  by  the  water's 
side  at  the  end  of  the  street  was  crowded  with  horsemen, 
*  Louis  XIV.  et  eon  Siecle. 


THE     COURT     OP     FRANCE.  345 

posted  there  to  protect  the  departure  of  the  cardinal,  who 
had  decided  to  leave  the  city  by  the  barrier  of  the  Confer- 
ence, and  that  these  mounted  guards  had  been  attacked  by 
the  boatmen,  her  own  band,  and  several  of  her  valets.  As 
the  firing  increased,  she  sent  to  withdraw  her  people  ;  but 
as  all  her  household  believed  that  she  had  retired  for  the 
night,  she  had  no  means  of  enforcing  obedience  ;  and  in 
the  melee  they  made  a  prisoner  of  M.  de  Roncerolles,  the 
governor  of  Bellegarde,  a  circumstance  which  much  embar- 
rassed the  princess,  who  caused  him  to  be  supplied  with  a 
strong  escort  that  he  might  leave  the  city  without  further 
molestation.  Before  his  departure,  he  confided  to  her  that 
the  cardinal  had  originally  arranged  to  escape  from  Paris  by 
that  route,  but  that  he  had  induced  him  to  adopt  another 
direction.  M.  de  Roncerolles  was  not,  however,  her  only 
capture  ;  "  for  the  "  irregular  troops"  had  also  possessed 
themselves  of  the  person  of  M.  d'Estrades,  the  governor  of 
Dunkirk,  who  was  the  confidential  friend  of  Mazarin,  and 
whom  Mademoiselle,  on  that  account,  resolved  to  detain 
a  prisoner  until  she  should  learn  the  wishes  of  the  Duke 
d'Orleans  as  to  his  disposal.  She  consequently  consigned 
him  to  the  large  pavilion  of  the  Tuileries,  in  order  that 
should  he  be  demanded  of  her  in  the  king's  name,  she  might 
be  enabled  to  declare  that  he  was  no  longer  in  her  apart- 
ments. All  her  diplomacy,  however,  proved  supererogatory, 
for  Monsieur,  who  never  desired  to  take  the  initiative  in  any 
hazardous  affair,  desired  her  forthwith  to  set  him  at  liberty  ; 
which  she  did  with  considerable  reluctance,  being  conscious 
that  had  he  been  detained,  her  father  would  have  secured 
Dunkirk,  as  M.  de  St.  Quentin,  the  king's  lieutenant,  had 
formerly  been  attached  to  his  household,  and  would  have 
embraced  his  interests. 

The  coadjutor  was  also  apprised  during  the  same  night 
of  the  disparition  of  the  minister,  and  hastened  to  commu- 
nicate with  Monsieur,  whom  he  found  surrounded  by  a  crowd 
of  courtiers.     As  M.  de  Retz  did  not  appear  so  triumphant 

p* 


340  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

as  those  about  him,  the  duke  observed,  with  a  smile,  that  he 
would  pledge  himself  the  coadjutor  was  prepared  to  hear 
in  the  next  place  of  the  departure  of  the  king.  The  truth 
of  his  suspicion  was  admitted ;  when  he  rallied  the  prelate 
upon  his  folly,  and  assured  him  that  had  the  cardinal  con- 
templated such  a  measure,  he  would  have  carried  the 
sovereign  away  from  Paris  under  his  own  charge.  Above 
all  things  Monsieur  protested  against  any  warlike  demon- 
stration, and  forbade  every  manifestation  of  suspicion  or 
mistrust;  he  cared  not  though  the  evil  should  come,  but  he 
would  not  permit  it  to  be  said  that  it  had  originated  with 
him ;  and  thus,  although  above  all  things  he  trembled  at  the 
event  of  a  civil  war,  which  must  become  inevitable  should 
the  king  be  removed  from  the  capital,  he  resolutely  refused 
to  authorize  the  measures  by  which  such  an  attempt  would 
have  been  rendered  impracticable. 

On  the  evening  of  the  second  day  after  the  cardinal's 
flight,  as  the  coadjutor,  satisfied  that  the  supineness  of  the 
duke  would  involve  some  new  difficulty,  had  retired  to  bed, 
wearied  and  irritated,  and  was  already  half  asleep,  his  cur- 
tain was  suddenly  drawn  back  by  a  gentleman  of  Monsieur's 
household,  who  announced  that  His  Royal  Highness  desired 
to  see  him  immediately.  M.  de  Retz,  anxious  to  ascertain 
the  cause  of  this  hasty  summons,  questioned  the  messenger 
as  he  prepared  to  rise ;  but  he  could  learn  nothing  more  than 
that  Mademoiselle  de  Chevreuse  had  been  to  the  palace, 
and  had  already  awoke  Monsieur.  While  he  was  dressing, 
a  page  brought  him  a  note  in  the  handwriting  of  that  lady, 
containing  only  the  words,  "  Come  quickly  to  the  Luxem- 
bourg, and  take  care  of  yourself  by  the  way."  His  in- 
creased curiosity  urged  him  to  exert  the  utmost  haste  in 
order  to  reach  the  palace ;  and  when  he  arrived  there,  he 
found  her  seated  upon  a  chest  in  the  antechamber ;  and  she 
hurriedly  informed  him  that  her  mother,  who  was  indisposed, 
had  sent  her  to  the  duke  to  confide  to  him  the  fact  that  the 
king  was  on  the  point  of  leaving  Paris ;  for  that  although 


THE     COURT     OF     PRANCE.  34? 

he  had  gone  to  bed  at  his  usual  time,  he  had  afterward 
risen,  and  had  even  drawn  on  his  boots.  This  intelligence 
had  reached  Madame  de  Chevreuse  through  the  Marshal 
d'Aumont,  the  captain  of  the  guard,  who  had,  in  concert 
with  the  Marshal  d'Albret,  informed  her  secretly  of  the 
circumstance,  in  order  that  steps  might  be  taken  to  prevent 
a  measure  which  would  once  more  plunge  the  kingdom 
into  confusion  and  revolt ;  while  the  Marshal  de  Villeroy 
had  at  the  same  time  given  a  similar  intimation  to  the 
keeper  of  the  seals.  Mademoiselle  de  Chevreuse  added, 
however,  that  she  apprehended  there  would  be  consid- 
erable difficulty  in  inducing  Monsieur  to  come  to  any 
resolution,  as  the  first  words  which  he  had  uttered  after 
she  awoke  him  with  the  news,  were — "  Send  for  the  coad- 
jutor. As  for  me,  I  do  not  see  that  any  thing  can  be  done 
in  it." 

They  entered  the  chamber  together,  where  they  found 
the  duke  and  duchess  still  in  bed  ;  and  as  they  appeared, 
Monsieur  exclaimed,  "  It  is  just  as  you  said ;  what  shall 
we  do  1"  The  coadjutor  replied  that  there  was  no  alterna- 
tive but  to  take  possession  of  the  city  gates.  The  duke 
objected  that  it  could  not  be  done  at  so  late  an  hour;  but 
both  the  duchess  and  Mademoiselle  de  Chevreuse  persisted 
that  nothing  could  be  more  wise  or  more  possible  ;  and  at 
length  Monsieur  was  so  far  shaken  as  to  concede  that  he 
would  send  M.  de  Souches,  the  captain  of  the  Swiss  guard, 
to  the  queen,  to  beseech  of  Her  Majesty  to  reflect  on  the 
consequences  of  such  a  proceeding ;  declaring  that,  in  his 
opinion,  nothing  further  was  necessary,  as  when  she  found 
her  resolution  was  discovered,  she  would  not  venture  to 
persist  in  it. 

The  coadjutor  still  lingered,  alarmed  and  almost  an- 
gered by  the  weakness  of  the  duke,  who  had  exhausted 
all  his  energy  in  words ;  and  now,  when  the  time  for 
action  had  arrived,  had  once  more  relapsed  into  weakness, 
and  threatened  by  his  incrlness  and  egotism  to  sacrifice 


;{  IN  L  GUIS     XI  V.     ANJ) 

the  whole  of  his  party ;  when  2Iadame  suddenly  desired 
him  to  bring  her  a  desk  which  stood  upon  the  table  in  her 
cabinet ;  and  taking  a  large  sheet  of  paper,  she  wrote 
hastily, — 

"  The  coadjutor  is  commanded  to  take  up  arms,  and  to 
prevent  the  creatures  of  the  Cardinal  Mazarin,  now  under 
condemnation  of  the  parliament,  from  removing  the  king  out 
of  Paris.  Marguerite  de  Lorraine." 

As  she  was  about  to  deliver  this  order  to  M.  de  Retz, 
the  duke  snatched  it  from  her  hand  ;  but  she  contrived 
to  whisper  in  the  ear  of  Mademoiselle  de  Chevreuse  that 
she  authorized  her  to  desire  the  coadjutor  to  act  as  he 
thought  right,  and  that  she  would  answer  to  him  for  the 
approbation  of  the  duke  the  next  day,  whatever  he  might 
then  say. 

Reconciled  by  this  assurance,  M.  de  Retz  at  length 
prepared  to  leave  the  room,  when  the  timid  Gaston  ex- 
claimed hastily,  "At  least,  Mr.  Coadjutor,  you  must  con- 
ciliate the  parliament.  I  will  on  no  account  quarrel  with 
them."* 

M.  de  Retz  instantly  wrote  to  the  Duke  de  Beaufort,  en- 
treating him  to  hasten  to  the  Hotel  de  Montbazon,  while 
Mademoiselle  de  Chevreuse  went  to  awaken  the  Marshal 
de  la  Motte  ;  and  in  a  very  short  space  of  time  the  whole 
city  took  the  alarm.  All  the  gates  were  seized ;  and  so 
great  was  the  popular  enthusiasm,  that  the  commandant  of 
the  Porte  St.  Honore  being  absent  from  bis  post,  his  wife 
sprung  from  her  bed,  and  without  waiting  to  do  more  than 
fold  a  dressing-gown  about  her,  made  the  drum  beat  to 
arms,  and  secured  the  barrier.  The  Duke  de  Beaufort  and 
the  Marshal  de  la  Motte  took  command  of  the  mounted 
patrols,  and  all  egress  from  Paris  became  thenceforward 
impossible. 

*  M6moires  du  C  i-.lumT.  de  Retz. 


'J'  HE     C  O  U  B  T     OF     P  RANCE,  349 

As  the  outbreak  commenced,  all  the  friends  of  the  princes 
mounted  their  horses,  and  traversed  the  streets,  urging  the 
citizens  to  arms ;  and  the  call  was  at  once  answered  by  an 
immense  mass  of  the  populace,  who  rushed  toward  the 
Palais-Royal. 

The  queen  was  no  sooner  apprised  by  this  tumult  that 
her  design  had  been  discovered,  than  she  caused  the  young 
king,  whose  traveling  dress  was  already  adjusted,  immedi- 
ately to  take  off  his  clothes  and  to  retire  to  bed  ;  which  he 
had  scai-cely  done  ere  one  of  the  officers  of  the  guards  an- 
nounced to  her  that  the  mob  was  threatening  the  palace,  in 
its  exasperation  on  learning  that  the  king  was  again  about 
to  leave  the  city ;  and  that  they  insisted  upon  seeing  him 
in  order  to  convince  themselves  that  he  was  not  actually 
already  gone.  While  the  officer  was  yet  speaking,  a  mes- 
senger arrived  from  the  palace  sentinels  to  request  new 
orders,  the  mob  which  had  collected  about  the  Palais-Royal 
having  threatened  to  tear  up  the  palisades  ;  and  before  the 
regent  had  time  to  answer  the  appeal,  the  messenger  of  the 
Duke  d'Orleans  arrived  in  his  turn,  and  was  conducted  to 
her  presence ;  when  he  informed  Her  Majesty  that  he  was 
deputed  by  Monsieur  to  request  that  she  would  terminate 
the  popular  commotion  which  had  been  excited  by  a  report 
that  she  was  about  to  remove  the  king  from  the  city ;  a 
measure  which  he  begged  to  assure  her  was  impossible,  for 
that  the  citizens  were  resolved  not  to  permit  it. 

The  queen  replied  with  great  haughtiness  that  it  was 
the  Duke  d'Orleans  himself  who  had  occasioned  the  tumult, 
and  that,  consequently,  it  depended  upon  himself  to  allay 
it,  should  he  see  fit  to  do  so  ;  that  she  was  well  aware  he 
had  merely  acted  upon  the  advice  of  the  coadjutor  ;  while, 
as  regarded  the  alarm  excited  by  the  supposed  departure 
of  the  king,  nothing  could  be  more  unfounded,  both  His 
Majesty  and  the  Duke  d'Anjou  being  then  asleep  in  their 
beds,  as  she  had  herself  been  before  the  outcry  compelled 
her  to  rise  ;  and  in  order  to  convince  him  of  the  futility  of 


350  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

the  report,  she  desired  him  to  follow  her  to  the  chamber 
of  the  king.  As  she  ceased  speaking,  she  moved  forward  ; 
and  De  Souches  saw,  as  she  had  declared,  the  young 
sovereign  apparently  in  a  profound  sleep. 

He  was  about  to  retire,  when  suddenly  the  outcry  of  the 
populace  became  more  violent ;  and  shouts  of  "  The  king  ! 
the  king  !  we  must  see  the  king  !"  penetrated  even  to  the 
royal  apartment.  The  regent  reflected  for  an  instant ;  and 
then,  turning  toward  the  envoy  of  Monsieur,  she  desired 
him  to  command  in  her  name  that  all  the  doors  of  the 
palace  should  be  flung  open,  and  every  one  admitted  to  the 
chamber  of  the  king  who  desired  to  enter  it ;  directing, 
however,  at  the  same  time,  that  the  citizens  should  be  in- 
formed that  His  Majesty  was  sleeping,  and  requested  to 
make  as  little  noise  as  possible. 

De  Souches  hastily  obeyed ;  and  having  transmitted 
the  order  of  the  regent  to  the  guard,  afterward  repeated 
her  message  to  the  people.  All  the  doors  were  immedi- 
ately opened,  and  the  mob  rushed  into  the  Palais-Royal. 
Nevertheless,  contrary  to  all  expectation,  they  had  no 
sooner  reached  the  royal  apartments,  than  the  individuals 
who  appeared  to  act  as  their  leaders,  remembering  that  the 
queen  had  assured  them  the  king  was  sleeping,  desired  the 
untimely  visitors  to  proceed  in  perfect  quiet ;  and  as  the 
human  tide  moved  onward,  their  very  breathing  was  sup- 
pressed, and  they  trod  as  though  they  dreaded  to  awaken 
every  echo  with  their  footsteps.  The  same  mighty  mass 
that  had  howled,  and  yelled,  and  threatened  without  the 
gates,  like  some  wild  beast  about  to  be  bereft,  of  its  young, 
now,  as  the  chamber  of  the  sovereign  gradually  filled,  had 
become  calm,  respectful,  and  cautious,  and  approached 
the  royal  bed  with  a  feeling  of  affectionate  deference, 
which  restrained  every  intruder  from  drawing  back  the 
curtains. 

It  was  the  queen  herself  who  performed  this  office.  She 
had  maintained  her  post  near  the  pillow  of  her  son  ;   and 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  351 

pale,  but  calm  and  dignified,  as  though  she  were  merely 
going  through  some  courtly  ceremonial,  she  extended  her 
hand,  and  gathering  back  the  velvet  folds  which  had  inter- 
vened between  the  people  and  their  sovereign,  revealed 
him  to  their  eager  gaze  in  all  the  beauty  of  youth  and 
apparent  slumber. 

By  a  simultaneous  impulse,  the  whole  assemblage 
dropped  upon  their  knees,  and  put  up  a  prayer  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  noble  child,  who  lay  sleeping  before  them ; 
after  which  they  retired  through  an  opposite  door,  to  give 
place  to  those  who  were  waiting  to  succeed  them. 

This  living  stream  continued  to  flow  on  until  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning ;  and  still  the  queen  never  faltered.  Like  a 
marble  statue  she  retained  her  position,  firm  and  motion- 
less, her  majestic  figure  drawn  haughtily  to  its  full  height, 
and  her  magnificent  arm  resting  in  broad  relief  upon  the 
crimson  draperies.  And  still  the  boy-king,  emulating  the 
example  of  his  royal  parent,  remained  immobile,  with 
closed  eyes,  and  steady  breathing,  as  though  his  rest  had 
remained  unbroken  by  the  incursion  of  his  rebellious  sub- 
jects. It  was  a  singular  and  marked  passage  in  the  life  of 
both  mother  and  son.* 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  the  queen  caused  the 
household  of  the  king,  and  the  municipal  magistrates,  to  be 
summoned  to  her  presence,  in  order  to  assure  them  that 
she  had  never  entertained  an  idea  of  removing  His  Majesty 
from  Paiis,  and  to  command  that  the  gates  of  the  city 
should  continue  to  be  guarded  as  they  then  were,  in  order 
to  efface  so  erroneous  an  impression  from  the  minds  of  the 
people.  Whatever  credence  her  hearers  were  inclined  to 
concede  to  her  assurance,  they  at  least  readily  obeyed  her 
order.  The  gates  were  still  strictly  watched  ;  and  Louis 
was,  in  point  of  fact,  a  prisoner  in  his  own'capitai. 

According  to  the  statement  of  Mademoiselle,  however, 
the  distrust  of  the  popular  faction  was  still  so  great,  that 
*   Louis  XIV.  et  son  Sicclo. 


352  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

Mo //.si  cur,  at  the  close  of  each  day,  dispatched  one  of  his 
gentlemen,  named  Desbuches,  to  offer  his  nightly  greeting 
to  the  queen ;  who  was,  moreover,  ordered  not  to  leave 
the  Palais-Royal  without  seeing  the  young  sovereign, 
upon  the  pretext  that  the  duke  would  not,  without  this 
ceremony,  be  enabled  to  undeceive  the  citizens,  who  still 
persisted  in  putting  faith  in  the  reports  which  continued  to 
be  spread  of  his  intended  evasion.  This  proceeding  was 
most  obnoxious  to  the  regent ;  but  as  she  had  no  alternative, 
she  was  compelled  to  permit  the  nightly  intrusion  of  M. 
Desbuches  into  the  royal  chamber,  where  he  even 
occasionally  repeated  his  visit  a  second  time,  drawing 
back  the  curtains  of  the  bed,  and  arousing  Louis  from  his 
sleep. 

The  cardinal  traveled  slowly  toward  Havre,  each  day 
anticipating  that  he  should  be  joined  by  the  queen  and  the 
princes,  as  it  had  been  privately  arranged  before  his  de- 
parture ;  but,  instead  of  the  royal  party,  he  was  overtaken 
by  a  courier,  who  announced  to  him  the  events  which  had 
taken  place  in  the  capital,  and  the  utter  impossibility  of 
their  evasion.  He  therefore  resumed  his  journey  with 
more  expedition,  being  anxious  to  secure  the  liberation  of 
the  princes  through  his  own  agency,  before  they  were 
wrested  from  his  authority  by  the  forces  of  the  Fronde. 
On  his  arrival  at  the  fortress,  he  lost  no  time  in  personally 
announcing  to  them  their  release ;  and  he  did  this  amid  sal- 
utations so  humble,  that  M.  de  Conde  declared  he  was 
prepared  to  see  him  even  bend  his  knee  ;  while,  the  meet- 
ing once  over,  he  made  a  thousand  protestations  of  his  own 
innocence  in  the  affair  of  their  imprisonment,  assuring 
them  that  it  was  effected  by  Monsieur  and  the  Frondeurs  ; 
while,  as  regarded  their  release,  it  had  only  been  accorded 
to  his  earnest  entreaties  by  Their  Majesties,  which  fact 
had  induced  him  to  be  himself  its  herald. 

The    prince    listened    with    courteous    incredulity,    and 
answered   every  civility  with   perfect  self-possession  ;    but 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  353 

still  the  cardinal  was  baffled  in  the  fond  hope  of  deluding 
him  either  by  his  words  or  actions.  Of  the  faith  which 
might  be  placed  in  the  former,  M.  de  Conde  had  long  been 
enabled  to  estimate  the  extent ;  while  his  constant  corre- 
spondence with  his  friends  in  the  capital  had  already  made 
him  aware,  that  far  from  acting  upon  his  free  will,  the  car- 
dinal had  been  compelled  to  the  step  which  he  was  now 
taking,  by  the  very  individuals  whom  he  was  accusing  as 
the  instigators  of  his  own  measures.  After  a  considerable 
time  had  been  consumed  in  this  hollow  and  ineffectual  dis- 
course, Mazarin  requested,  as  an  honor,  the  company  of 
M.  de  Conde,  the  prince  de  Conti,  and  M.  de  Longueville, 
at  dinner,  an  invitation  which  they  accepted;  and  during 
the  repast  the  prince  exerted  all  the  fascination  of  his  intel- 
lect, and  by  his  high  spirits  and  good-humor  rendered  the 
embarrassment  and  uneasiness  of  his  host  the  more  con- 
spicuous. The  dinner  over,  the  princes  took  their  depart- 
ure ;  and  having  passed  the  gates  of  the  fortress,  and  girded 
on  their  swords,  they  raised  their  hats  with  dignified  court- 
esy to  their  discomfited  entertainer,  struck  spurs  into  their 
horses,  and  galloped  out  of  town. 

Three  days  afterward  they  arrived  in  Paris  ;  Monsieur, 
the  Duke  de  Beaufort,  and  the  coadjutor  went  in  the  same 
coach  as  far  as  St.  Denis  to  meet  them,  followed  by  the 
whole  of  the  court  save  the  ladies  and  a  few  of  the  car- 
dinal's private  friends.  The  entire  road  from  Paris  to  St. 
Denis  was  lined  with  carnages ;  the  populace  testified 
even  more  joy  at  the  return  of  M.  de  Conde  than  they  had 
exhibited  at  his  imprisonment ;  and  the  king,  the  regent, 
and  the  Duke  d'Anjou  alone  remained  in  the  palace. 
When  the  two  carnages  containing  Monsieur  and  his 
friends,  and  the  prince  and  his  brothers,  at  length  met,  M. 
de  Conde  alighted,  and,  with  his  party,  entered  that  of  the 
Duke  d'Orleans ;  which  arrangement  had  no  sooner  been 
made  than  the  pressure  of  the  crowd  compelled  them  to 
proceed  at  a  foot's  pace.      Their  progress  was  consequently 


354  LOUIS  XIV.  AND  THE  COURT  OF  FRANCE. 

slow  ;  and  it  was  already  late  in  the  day  when  the  princes 
reached  the  Palais-Royal,  where  they  immediately  has- 
tened to  pay  their  respects  to  the  king  and  queen.  They 
were  accompanied  in  their  visit  only  by  Monsieur ;  for 
the  Duke  de  Beaufort  and  the  coadjutor  were  aware  that 
their  own  appearance  at  such  a  moment  would  only  tend 
to  exasperate  the  annoyance  of  the  regent;  a  conviction 
which  induced  M.  de  Beaufort  at  once  to  return  to  his 
post  at  the  Porte  St.  Honore ;  and  M.  de  Retz  to  attend 
the  evening  service  at  the  Oratory. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Reception  of  the  Princes  by  the  Court — Intrigue  against  the  Coadjutor 
— Vanity  of  Mademoiselle — Projected  Marriage  of  the  Prince  de 
Conti  and  Mademoiselle  de  Chevreuse — Proposition  of  Conde — Ill- 
ness of  Madame  de  Conde — Mademoiselle  indulges  in  a  new  matri- 
monial Speculation — Retirement  of  the  Coadjutor — An  armed  Neu- 
trality— Pretensions  of  the  Prince  de  Conde — The  Queen  makes 
Overtures  to  the  Coadjutor — Fresh  Intrigues — The  Projected  Assas- 
sination— Noble  Resistance  of  the  Coadjutor — Sentence  against  Maza- 
rin — Private  Meetings  of  the  Queen  and  the  Coadjutor — Retreat  of 
the  Princes  to  St.  Maur — The  royal  Envoy — Rage  of  the  Duke  d'Or- 
leans — Return  of  Conde  to  the  Capital — Close  of  the  Regency — Ma- 
jority of  Louis  XIV. — The  Bed  of  Justice — Renunciation  of  the  Re- 
gency by  Anne  of  Austria — The  King  and  Madame  de  Frontenac. 

The  poor  queen  had,  meanwhile,  passed  a  wretched  day ; 
and  as  the  time  of  M.  de  Conde 's  arrival  in  the  capital 
approached,  she  became  greatly  irritated  by  the  presence 
of  the  crowd  of  courtiers  who  collected  in  her  apartments 
to  witness  his  presentation,  and  complained  unceasingly  of 
the  extreme  heat.  She,  nevertheless,  made  a  powerful 
effort  to  appear  cheerful,  although  not  with  sufficient  suc- 
cess to  conceal  her  real  feelings.  At  length  the  prince 
reached  the  palace,  and  was  no  sooner  announced  than  he 
entered,  and  was  received,  according  to  the  statement  of 
M.  de  la  Rochefoucauld,  rather  like  one  who  was  in  a  po- 
sition to  grant  forgiveness  than  to  demand  it. 

His  address  to  the  queen  was  brief,  and  haughtily  re- 
spectful ;  while  those  of  his  brothers  were  modeled  upon 
iris  own;  and,  this  ceremony  performed,  they  fell  back 
nto  the  circle,  jesting,  not  only  with  those  about  them, 
mt  even  with  the  regent  herself,  like  men  wholly  without 
•are  or  fear  of  any  sort.      The  queen  supported  the  trial 


356  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

bravely ;  and  after  a  few  moments  passed  in  this  reckless 
triumph  on  the  one  hand,  and  concealed  torture  on  the  oth- 
er, the  princes  took  their  leave,  and  proceeded  to  the  Luxem- 
bourg to  sup  with  the  Duke  d'Orleans  ;  where  Mademoi- 
selle had  an  explanation  with  M.  de  Conde,  and  they  vowed 
a  friendship  for  the  future  as  sincere  as  their  past  aversion. 

The  day  succeeding  that  on  which  the  cardinal  left 
Paris,  the  parliament  had  passed  a  decree,  in  which  they 
presented  their  acknowledgments  to  the  regent  for  his  ab- 
sence, and  requested  from  her  a  declaration  that  she  would 
henceforward  exclude  from  her  council  all  foreigners,  or 
persons  who  had  taken  the  oath  to  any  other  princes  than 
the  king  himself;  and  she  lost  no  time  in  publishing  this 
declaration,  which  deprived  the  coadjutor  forever  both  of 
a  seat  in  the  council,  and  of  the  cardinal's  hat,  since,  should 
he  be  admitted  into  the  conclave,  he  must  necessarily  take 
an  oath  to  the  Pope. 

Just  at  this  period,  M.  de  Saujon,  the  envoy  whom  Ma- 
demoiselle had  dispatched  to  Germany,  reappeared  in 
Paris;  but  she  did  not  make  the  slightest  allusion  to  his 
journey  or  its  object.  She  was  already  aware  that  the  ne- 
gotiation had  failed,  the  emperor  being  about  to  form  an 
alliance  with  the  Princess  of  Mantua.  "  I  thought  no  more 
about  it,"  she  says,  with  a  charming  self-complacency  quite 
unapproachable,  "  save  to  feel  great  regret  that  I  had  ever 
taken  it  so  much  to  heart ;  and  it  is,  as  I  have  already  said, 
the  least  beautiful  passage  of  my  life;  while  I  may  add, 
without  vanity,  that  God,  who  is  just,  would  not  bestow 
a  woman  like  me  upon  a  man  who  is  not  worthy  of  her.* 

The  projected  marriage  of  the  Prince  de  Conti  and 
Mademoiselle  de  Chevreuse  created  a  great  sensation  in 
Paris.  Couriers  were  dispatched  to  Rome  for  a  dispensa- 
tion;  and  the  prince  lived  entirely  at  the  Hotel  de  Chev- 
reuse, where  he  was  frequently  joined  by  M.  de  Conde. 
At  the  same  time,  a  second  dispensation  was  requested  of 
*  Memo-ires  de  Mndemoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  357 

the  Pope,  which  would  enable  the  Duke  d'Enghien  to  hold 
the  ecclesiastical  livings  about  to  be  resigned  by  his  uncle, 
and  which  were  very  considerable. 

Only  a  month  subsequently,  however,  the  president  Viole 
disengaged  M.  de  Conti  from  his  promise;  which,  so  far 
from  exciting  his  displeasure,  appeared  to  afford  him  infi- 
nite satisfaction ;  but  the  failure  of  the  marriage  originated, 
in  fact,  with  the  Duchess  de  Longueville,  who  exerted  all 
her  influence  ever  the  prince  to  prevent  its  completion, 
from  a  dread  that  when  once  she  had  become  his  wife, 
Mademoiselle  de  Chevreuse  would  deliver  over  M.  de 
Conti  without  mercy  to  the  coadjutor,  her  lover. 

The  seals  were  at  the  same  time  withdrawn  from  the 
Marquis  de  Chateauneuf,  and  given  to  M.  de  Mole,  the  first 
president,  who  was  a  declared  enemy  of  the  coadjutor; 
but  this  arrangement  was  not  made  without  involving  con- 
siderable disaffection  in  the  opposite  party.  On  arriving 
at  the  Palais-Royal,  Monsieur  learned  that  the  Count  de 
Chavigny,  who  was  the  intimate  friend  of  M.  de  Conde, 
had  been  recalled  by  the  queen  from  Touraine ;  and,  as 
I  he  hated  him  mentally,"  he  complained  to  the  regent  of 
her  having  adopted  such  a  measure  without  previously  con- 
sulting him  ;  and  the  rather  as  it  was  reported  that  she  was 
about  to  make  him  a  member  of  the  council ;  to  which  re- 
monstrance Anne  of  Austria  haughtily  replied  that  he  had, 
on  his  side  taken  many  and  more  serious  steps  without 
requesting  her  own  sanction ;  a  reply  which  so  irritated 
Monsieur,  that  he  immediately  left  the  palace  and  the  prince 
followed  him. 

At  the  close  of  the  council,  the  queen  sent  M.  de  la 
Vailliere  to  demand  the  seals  from  M.  de  Chateauneuf;  and 
at  ten  o'clock  at  night  she  transferred  them  to  M.  M0I6, 
and  dispatched  M.  de  Sully  in  search  of  his  father-in-law, 
in  order  that  he  might  assume  the  seat  of  the  chancellor  in 
the  council.  These  proceedings  were  instantly  reported 
to   Monsieur;   and  at  the  same  time,  Madame  de  Chcv- 


358  Louis    xiv.    a  .\  o 

reuse  and  her  daughter  impressed  strongly  upon  him  the 
consequences  which  must  result  from  such  a  display  of  in- 
dependence on  the  part  of  Anne  of  Austria ;  nor  was  their 
eloquence  wasted,  for  as  lieutenant-general  of  the  state,  he 
deeply  felt  the  affront  which  had  been  offered  to  him ;  and 
in  the  first  paroxysm  of  his  annoyance,  assembled  the  chiefs 
of  the  faction,  and,  having  laid  the  circumstances  before 
them,  requested  their  opinion. 

It  was  proposed  by  M.  de  Montresor,  that  His  Royal 
Highness  should  send  and  demand  the  restoration  of  the 
seals  by  the  president ;  and  this  suggestion  was  seconded 
by  the  coadjutor ;  with  the  amendment,  however,  that, 
instead  of  making  their  restoration  a  popular  question,  he 
should  claim  them  through  the  captain  of  his  guard ;  adding 
that,  meanwhile,  the  Duke  de  Beaufort  and  himself  could 
remain  on  the  quays  at  the  two  extremities  of  Paris,  to  keep 
the  people  in  good  humor,  whom,  fortunately,  the  name  of 
Monsieur  would  suffice  to  pacify.  At  this  point  he  was, 
however,  interrupted  by  the  duke,  who  remarked  that  he 
would  speak  for  himself  when  he  considered  it  necessary, 
but  that  he  did  not  wish  to  be  quoted,  and  by  no  means 
felt  prepared  to  say  that  the  populace  could  be  restrained, 
or  prevented  from  throwing  the  president  into  the  river; 
in  which  declaration  he  was  joined  by  M.  de  Conde,  who, 
moreover,  asserted  that  he  did  not  understand  how  to  con- 
duct a  conflict  of  this  nature,  and  that  he  always  felt  like  a 
coward  on  occasions  of  popular  sedition  ;  but  that,  if  Mon- 
sieur considered  himself  to  be  sufficiently  aggrieved  to  com- 
mence a  civil  war,  he  was  quite  ready  to  mount,  and  start 
for  Burgundy,  and  levy  troops  for  his  assistance.  M.  de 
Beaufort  followed  in  the  same  spirit;  and  Monsieur  be- 
came alarmed,  lest  on  seeing  that  the  duke  was  so  thor- 
oughly in  the  interests  of  the  prince,  the  people  should  be 
divided  between  the  two  parties ;  and,  in  consequence,  the 
proposition  fell  to  the  ground.* 

*  Memoires  du  Cardinal  de  Retz. 


THE     CUUKT     OF     FRANCE.  359 

Mademoiselle  adverts  slightly  to  these  facts;  and  the 
remainder  of  the  paragraph  in  which  she  alludes  to  the 
matrimonial  dissolution,  is  occupied  by  the  record  of  an 
attack  of  erysipelas,  during  which  the  Princess  de  Conde 
was  confined  to  her  bed ;  and  which,  having  struck  iu- 
wardly,  placed  her  life  in  such  danger,  that  "  many  persons 
thought,"  says  Mademoiselle,  in  her  usual  style,  "  that  if 
she  died  I  might  very  well  marry  the  prince.  The  report 
reached  my  own  ears,  and  I  began  to  reflect.  In  the  even- 
ing, when  I  was  walking  up  and  down  my  room  with  Pre- 
fontaine,*  I  conversed  with  him  upon  the  subject.  I  con- 
sidered that  the  thing  was  very  feasible,  from  the  excellent 
terms  upon  which  he  lived  with  Monsieur  ;  while  the  aver- 
sion of  the  queen  toward  His  Royal  Highness  rendered 
my  marriage  with  the  king  impossible.  Moreover,  I  ar- 
gued that  the  noble  qualities  of  the  prince,  and  the  reputation 
which  he  had  acquired  by  his  great  deeds,  supplied  all  that 
might  have  been  wanting  on  his  side ;  as,  with  regard  to 
birth,  we  were  both  of  the  same  blood.  I  reflected  also, 
that  the  court  would  not  consent  to  the  union  of  our  two 
families  (or  rather,  I  should  say,  of  our  two  branches,  since 
we  are  of  the  same  name),  because  Monsieur,  in  addition  to 
his  own  position  in  the  state,  if  supported  and  rendered 
more  prominent  by  the  prince,  would  be  extremely  formi- 
dable. During  the  three  days  that  Madame  de  Conde 
remained  in  danger,  this  was  my  constant  theme  of  con- 
versation with  Prefontaine,  although  I  mentioned  it  to  no 
one  else.  We  agitated  every  question  which  could  arise 
upon  the  subject ;  and  what  gave  me  reason  to  do  this,  in 
addition  to  the  reports  which  perpetually  reached  me,  was 
the  fact  that  the  prince  visited  me  daily.  The  recovery 
of  the  princess,  however,  ended  the  chapter;  and  from  that 
moment  no  one  thought  any  more  about  the  matter."  t 

Meanwhile   the   coadjutor,  who  had  brooded   over  the 
affront  offered  to  him  by  the  Duke  de  Beaufort,  and  who 
*   Her  Secretary.         t  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


300  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

was  not  a  man  likely  to  remain  supinely  in  a  false  posi- 
tion, while  fully  conscious  of  his  power,  resolved  to  make 
a  cover  of  his  ecclesiastical  duties,  and  to  render  the  court 
better  aware  of  his  value  by  withdrawing  into  retirement. 
He  consequently  waited  upon  Monsieur,  to  whom  he  said 
that  having  had  the  honor  of  being  of  service  to  him  in  the 
two  things  which  he  had  the  most  at  heart — the  banish- 
ment of  the  cardinal,  and  the  release  of  the  princes,  his 
cousins — he  now  requested  the  permission  of  His  Royal 
Highness  to  return  calmly  and  quietly  to  the  duties  of  his 
profession;  and  the  rather,  that  as  the  Holy  Week  was 
approaching,  he  was  anxious  to  withdraw  himself  entirely 
from  worldly  affairs,  which  he  could  do  with  the  greater 
tranquillity,  as  his  assistance  was  no  longer  necessary  to 
the  duke,  whom  his  presence  rather  tended  on  the  contrary 
to  embarrass  ;  and  of  whom  he  therefore  entreated  the  con- 
sent that  he  should  retire  to  his  cloister  of  Notre-Dame. 
Despite  his  remonstrances  with  M.  de  Retz,  and  the  argu- 
ments which  he  used  to  detain  him,  the  joy  of  Monsieur  at 
this  appeal  was  too  great  even  for  his  extraordinary  powers 
of  dissimulation ;  his  eye  sparkled,  and  his  cheek  flushed 
with  gratification.  The  struggle  was  over,  and  the  coadju- 
tor was  an  inconvenient  ally. 

After  quitting  Monsieur,  who  embraced  him  at  parting, 
M.  de  Retz  proceeded  to  take  leave  of  the  princes,  whom 
he  found  at  the  Hotel  de  Conde,  in  company  with  the 
duchess  and  the  Princess-Palatine.  M.  de  Conti  only 
laughed  at  the  extraordinary  resolution  of  the  prelate,  and 
called  him  a  reverend  hermit;  Madame  de  Longueville 
made  no  comment  whatever;  the  Princess-Palatine  looked 
disconcerted  and  disappointed;  but  the  prince,  who  foresaw 
all  the  consequences  of  the  step  meditated  by  the  coadjutor, 
made  no  attempt  to  conceal  his  surprise.  Nevertheless, 
M.  de  Retz  persisted  in  his  design,  and  retired  to  Xotre- 
Dame ;  "  where,  however,"  he  himself  says,  "  I  did  not 
abandon  myself  so  entirely  to  Providence  as  to  neglect 


THE     COURT     OK     FRANCE.  361 

human  means  of  defending  myself  from  the  insults  of  my 
enemies." 

It  is  certain  that  these  were  far  from  contemptible ;  for 
M.  d'Annery,  with  the  nobles  of  Vexin,  shared  his  retreat ; 
and  MM.  de  Chateaubriant  and  De  Chateau-Regnaut,  the 
Viscount  de  Lamet,  M.  Argenteuil,  and  the  Chevalier 
d'Humieres,  also  took  up  their  abode  in  the  cloister ;  while 
M.  de  Balau  and  the  Count  d'Orafort,  with  fifty  Scottish 
officers  who  had  served  under  Montrose,  were  distributed 
among  the  houses  of  the  rue  Neuve ;  and  the  colonels  and 
captains  of  the  different  stations,  who  were  in  the  interests 
of  the  ambitious  and  restless  prelate,  had  each  their  signal 
and  their  watchword  ;  and  thus  protected,  the  coadjutor 
abandoned  himself  entirely,  at  least  to  all  appearance,  to  the 
exercise  of  his  religious  duties,  receiving  no  one  publicly 
save  the  canons  and  curates  of  the  diocese ;  and  only  leav- 
ing his  retreat  at  night  to  visit  the  Hotel  de  Chevreuse.  All 
was  raillery  and  witticism  upon  this  subject,  both  at  the 
Palais-Royal  and  the  Hotel  de  Conde ;  and  as  M.  de  Retz 
had  established  an  aviary  in  one  of  his  windows,  Nogent, 
the  court-jester,  remarked  that  no  one  need  longer  be  anxious 
with  regard  to  the  coadjutor,  as  he  had  now  only  two  occu- 
pations on  earth — those  of  securing  his  salvation,  and  of 
whistling  to  his  linnets. 

Once  rid  of  the  importunate  prelate,  M.  de  Conde  began 
resolutely  to  assert  himself,  and  to  urge  his  claims  upon  the 
court.  He  had  been  promised  the  government  of  Guienne, 
which  had  been  wrenched  from  the  Duke  d'Epernon ;  and 
M.  de  la  Roucbefoucauld,  the  rank  of  lieutenant-general,  as 
well  as  the  command  of  the  citadel  of  Blaye.  Moreover, 
he  demanded  the  government  of  Provence  for  the  Prince 
de  Conti ;  which,  as  he  already  held  in  the  interior  Cler- 
mont, Stenay,  Bellegarde,  Dijon,  and  Montrond,  and  that 
M.  de  Longueville  still  kept  in  view  his  old  government  of 
Normandy,  would,  should  his  claim  be  conceded,  create  for 
him  almost  the  position  of  a  sovereign  prince ;  and  afford 

VOL.  I. — Q 


;:<;j  luuis   xiv.    and 

the  means  of  sustaining,  should  his  ambition  tempt  him  to 
the  trial,  a  struggle  in  which  royalty  itself  might  chance  to 

fail. 

Mazarin,  meanwhile,  who  in  his  exile  maintained  a  con- 
stant correspondence  with  the  regent  upon  state  affairs,  be- 
came terrified  at  the  exactions  of  the  prince,  who,  in  his 
eagerness  to  secure  himself  individually,  had  not  on  every 
occasion  been  equally  zealous  in  the  cause  of  his  friends ; 
and  who,  when  reminded  of  his  omission  upon  this  point, 
was  wont  to  say  that  M.  de  Beaufort  had  been  very  fortu- 
nate to  require  only  a  ladder  to  escape  from  his  confinement 
— Mazarin,  Ave  say,  alarmed  at  his  increasing  demands, 
resolved  to  check  the  assumption  of  M.  de  Conde  by  any 
means,  however  desperate  ;  and,  in  pursuance  of  this  deter- 
mination, he  caused  the  Viscount  d'Autel  to  wait  upon  the 
coadjutor  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  accompanied  by  his 
brother,  the  Marshal  Duplessis,  who,  however,  remained  at 
the  door  in  his  carriage. 

As  the  viscount  entered  the  apartment  of  M.  de  Retz,  he 
flung  his  arms  about  his  neck,  saying  that  he  was  anxious  to 
be  the  first  to  salute  the  new  minister ;  but  such  a  salutation, 
however  it  might  astonish  the  coadjutor,  did  not  on  that 
account  startle  him  out  of  his  self-possession,  and  he  merely 
smiled  as  he  returned  the  embrace.  M.  d'Autel,  perceiving 
his  incredulity,  only  the  more  earnestly  persisted  in  his 
assertion ;  and  added,  that  he  had  received  the  commands 
of  the  queen  to  inform  him  that  she  placed  in  his  hands  not 
only  her  own  person,  but  also  the  life  and  crown  of  her  son. 
He  then  recapitulated  to  his  attentive  listener  all  the  decis- 
ions of  the  regent  and  His  Eminence  relatively  to  the  claims 
of  M.  de  Conde  ;  and  he  was  still  expatiating  upon  the  self- 
immolation  of  the  cardinal  at  so  critical  a  moment  for  the 
kingdom,  when  the  marshal  entered  in  his  turn  ;  and,  draw- 
ing a  letter  from  his  breast,  placed  it  in  the  hands  of  M.  de 
Retz,  who  instantly  recognized  the  handwriting  of  Mazarin. 
It  terminated  with  these  words  : — 


THE     COURT     OF     FKANCE.  363 

"  You  know,  madam,  that  the  greatest  enemy  I  have  in 
the  world  is  the  coadjutor:  nevertheless  make  use  of  him, 
madam,  rather  than  enter  into  any  treaty  with  the  prince  on 
the  conditions  he  demands.  Make  him  a  cardinal,  give  him 
my  appointment,  and  lodge  him  in  my  apartments.  He  will 
perhaps  be  more  in  the  interests  of  Monsieur  than  in  those 
of  Your  Majesty ;  but  Monsieur  does  not  seek  the  ruin  of 
the  state,  and  his  intentions  at  bottom  are  not  bad.  In 
short,  do  any  thing,  madam,  rather  than  grant  the  demands 
of  the  prince.  Should  he  obtain  them,  there  would  be  noth- 
ing left  to  do  save  to  conduct  him  to  Rheims." 

The  coadjutor  had,  however,  no  desire  to  become  prime 
minister ;  his  ambition  tended  rather  to  a  seat  in  the  con- 
clave ;  and  he  did  not,  moreover-,  altogether  trust  to  the 
perfect  sincerity  of  the  court.  He  accordingly  replied  to 
the  marshal,  that  he  was  deeply  sensible  of  the  honor  con- 
ferred upon  him  by  such  a  proof  of  Her  Majesty's  confi- 
dence, and  that  in  order  to  prove  his  gratitude  for  so  signal 
a  mark  of  favor,  he  begged  of  her  to  permit  him  to  serve  her 
without  any  view  to  his  own  personal  interests  ;  adding,  that 
he  was  altogether  incapable  of  fulfilling  the  duties  of  her 
minister  for  many  reasons ;  nor  would  it  be  consistent  with 
her  dignity  to  elevate  to  such  an  office,  a  man  who  was,  so 
to  say,  still  "  warm  and  smoking"  from  the  opposite  faction — 
a  fact  which  would  of  itself  render  him  useless  to  her  ser- 
vice as  regarded  Monsieur,  and  still  more  so  as  regarded 
the  people,  while  these  were  the  two  most  important  points 
to  secure  at  such  a  crisis.  As  the  marshal  still  persisted, 
without  effecting  any  change  in  the  determination  of  the 
coadjutor,  he  at  length  exclaimed  that  the  prelate  ought  to 
see  the  queen.  M.  de  Retz  affected  not  to  have  heard 
the  remark  ;  upon  which  M.  Duplessis  repeated  his  declara- 
tion with  still  greater  earnestness,  as  he  threw  a  paper 
upon  the  table  desiring  him  to  read  it,  and  saying  he  would 
perhaps  place  faith  in  that  at  least.  It  was  a  document 
signed  by  the  regent,  in  which  she  promised  al]  surety  to 


304  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

the  coadjutor,  if  he  would  present  himself  at  the  Palais- 
Royal.  M.  de  Retz  raised  the  paper  to  his  lips ;  and  then 
approaching  the  fire,  threw  it  into  the  flames,  as  he  asked 
when  the  marshal  would  conduct  him  to  the  queen's 
presence. 

It  was  agreed  that  M.  de  Retz  should  meet  him  the 
following  midnight  in  the  cloisters  of  St.  Honore,  where  he 
was  accordingly  punctually  waiting  at  the  stipulated  hour ; 
and  they  at  once  proceeded  together  to  the  private  ora- 
tory of  the  regent  by  a  back  stair-case.  A  quarter  of  an 
hour  afterward  the  queen  entered;  upon  which  the  mar- 
shal retired,  and  M.  de  Retz  remained  alone  with  Her 
Majesty. 

Although  Anne  of  Austria  used  all  her  powers  of  per- 
suasion to  induce  the  coadjutor  to  assume  the  office,  and  to 
install  himself  in  the  apartments  of  the  absent  minister,  she 
succeeded  no  better  than  her  envoy  ;  for  M.  de  Retz  easilv 
perceived  that,  even  while  she  urged  him  to  this  step,  her 
heart  and  mind  were  still  full  of  the  cardinal;  and  although 
she  declared  that,  much  as  she  esteemed  and  loved  His 
Eminence,  she  would  not  peril  the  safety  of  the  state  upon 
his  account,  he  detected  symptoms  in  her  manner  which 
convinced  him  that  she  was  by  no  means  unwilling  to  do 
so,  despite  her  assertion  to  the  contrary.  In  consequence 
of  this  conviction  he  steadily  maintained  his  position ;  and 
the  queen  ultimately  became  so  much  exasperated  by  his 
refusal,  that  she  told  him  to  act  as  he  saw  fitting,  for  that 
God  and  the  innocence  of  her  son  would  protect  her,  since 
she  was  abandoned  by  the  whole  world  ;  and  for  a  time  she 
continued  to  exhibit  considerable  resentment.  Gradually, 
howevei-,  she  became  more  calm,  and  again  consented  to 
hear  the  propositions  of  the  coadjutor;  who  promised,  should 
he  have  her  sanction  for  such  a  measure,  that  he  would  with- 
draw Monsieur  from  the  interest  of  the  prince  in  the  course 
of  the  following  day,  and  compel  M.  de  Conde  himself  to 
leave  Paris  within  a  week. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  365 

The  queen,  overcome  with  delight,  extended  her  hand  to 
her  late  antagonist,  declaring  that  if  he  could  effect  this 
measure,  he  should  be  a  cardinal  in  eight-and-forty  hours, 
and  moreover,  one  of  the  dearest  of  her  friends.  She  then 
endeavored  to  induce  M.  de  Retz  to  become  reconciled  to 
Mazarin  ;  but  upon  this  point  he  once  more  excused  him- 
self, affirming  that  were  he  to  appear  in  the  character  of  a 
partisan  of  His  Eminence  he  should  no  longer  be  able  to 
serve  Her  Majesty.  As  he  was  about  to  retire  from  the 
oratory,  she  recalled  him,  and  desired  him  to  remember 
that  it  was  the  cardinal  who  had  suggested  his  nomination 
to  the  ministry ;  to  which  he  replied  that  he  felt  all  the  ex- 
tent of  his  obligation,  and  that  he  would  testify  his  gratitude 
by  every  means  consistent  with  his  honor;  but  that  he  would 
not  deceive  Her  Majesty  by  leading  her  to  believe  that  he 
should  take  any  steps  tending  to  the  reestablishment  of  His 
Eminence  in  the  ministry. 

Anne  of  Austria  remained  for  an  instant  buried  in  thought, 
and  then  said,  cheerfully,  "  Well,  get  you  gone ;  you  are  a 
real  demon.  Good-night.  Let  me  know  the  day  before 
you  attend  parliament." 

In  the  course  of  the  following  night  the  coadjutor  visited 
Monsieur,  who  expressed  the  most  lively  joy  at  the  reci- 
tal of  his  interview  with  the  queen,  but  blamed  him  very 
seriously  for  his  refusal  of  the  office  and  the  lodging  of  the 
absent  cardinal ;  remarking  that  the  regent  was  a  crea- 
ture of  habit,  into  whose  good  graces  he  might  possibly 
have  insinuated  himself.  From  the  Luxembourg  M.  de 
Retz  proceeded  to  the  residence  of  the  Princess-Palatine, 
the  queen  having  assured  him,  during  their  conversa- 
tion, that  Her  Highness  was  more  interested  in  his  favor 
than  he  had  imagined  ;  and  that  she  was  also  exasper- 
ated against  the  prince  for  reasons  that  she  would  herself 
explain. 

He  was  warmly  welcomed  by  the  princess,  with  whom 
he  remained,  in  fact,  until  dawn  ;  when,  at  the  close  of  a 


366  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

long  and  confidential  conversation,  he  pledged  himself  to 
forward  the  marriage  between  the  Prince  de  Conti  and 
Mademoiselle  de  Chevreuse ;  and  she,  on  her  side,  to  sec- 
cond  his  views  of  obtaining  the  cardinalate,  for  which  he 
was  eventually  mainly  indebted  to  her  exertions. 

The  interview  already  narrated  between  the  queen  and 
M.  de  Retz  was  followed  by  several  others ;  and  meanwhile 
the  latter  resumed  his  seat  in  parliament,  as  well  as  his  ne- 
gotiations with  the  papal  court ;  and  the  sensation  which 
he  created  on  his  reappearance  at  the  assembly  so  delighted 
the  regent  that  she  wrote  the  same  day  to  the  Princess- 
Palatine  to  desire  that  he  would  again  await  her  messenger 
in  the  middle  of  the  following  night  in  the  cloisters  of  St. 
Honore.  When  he  arrived  at  the  palace  he  found  her  trans- 
ported with  joy  upon  ascertaining  that  a  party  had  been 
ostensibly  organized  against  the  prince,  an  event  which 
she  had  not  conceived  to  be  possible  in  so  short  a  time, 
and  which  M.  de  Tellier  could  not,  she  said,  yet  bring  him- 
self to  believe  ;  while  Servien  maintained  that  the  coadjutor 
must  have  had  some  secret  understanding  with  M.  de  Conde. 
Nevertheless,  in  this  conference,  which  lasted  until  two 
hours  after  midnight,  the  queen  evinced  great  alarm  at  the 
idea  of  a  reconciliation  with  the  prince,  under  whatever  cir- 
cumstances it  might  be  attempted ;  and  admitted  that  the 
shortest  method  to  deliver  the  court  from  his  pertinacity 
would  be  to  arrest  him ;  but  when  M.  de  Retz  proposed 
that  this  should  be  accomplished  by  Monsieur  at  the  Lux- 
embourg, she  decidedly  negatived  the  suggestion,  declaring 
that  the  Duke  d'Orleans  did  not  possess  sufficient  resolution 
to  undeitake  such  a  measure,  and  that  it  would  be  too  haz- 
ardous to  communicate  it  to  him;  and,  finally,  she  said  that 
the  Marshal  d'Hocquincourt  wrould  confer  with  him  upon 
the  subject ;  and  would  prove  to  him  that  he  knew  a  safer 
method  of  accomplishing  the  end  in  view  than  that  which 
he  had  himself  proposed. 

On  the  morrow  he  accordingly  had  an  interview  with  the 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  367 

marshal,  who  informed  him  that  he  had  proposed  to  the 
queen  to  effect  the  assassination  of  M.  de  Condc,  by  attack- 
ing him  in  the  streets ;  a  suggestion  which  had  apparently 
struck  Her  Majesty  as  the  most  ready  and  decisive  method 
of  ridding  herself  of  a  dangerous  enemy.  To  such  an  ex- 
pedient the  coadjutor,  however,  instantly  refused  to  lend 
himself;  and  it  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  Anne  of  Austria, 
whose  diplomacy  in  this  instance  was  more  conspicuous 
than  her  right  feeling,  only  upon  the  following  night,  when 
in  conversation  with  M.  de  Retz  and  the  Duchess  de  Chev- 
reuse  (although  upon  the  previous  evening  she  had  referred 
the  marshal  to  the  former,  as  a  man  who  had  put  forth  a 
rational  proposition),  declared  that  she  highly  approved 
the  scruples  of  the  prelate,  which  she  felt  sure  would  be 
excited  by  an  attempt  of  such  a  nature  ;  and,  moreover, 
absolutely  denied  that  M.  d'Hocquincourt  had  so  ex- 
plained himself  to  her.  It  however  transpired,  within 
half  an  hour  afterward,  that  Madame  de  Chevreuse  had 
declared  to  the  queen  that  the  coadjutor  would  never 
consent  to  such  an  expedient :  upon  which  the  regent  had 
remarked  in  her  turn  to  M.  de  Senneterre,  that  if  that  were 
the  case,  M.  de  Retz  was  not  so  bold  as  she  had  believed 
him  to  be. 

Whatever  were  the  disclaimers  of  the  queen,  her  mind 
was,  beyond  all  doubt,  strongly  biassed  in  favor  of  the 
assassination;  while  just  at  that  moment  every  thing  ap- 
peared to  conspire  in  bringing  all  her  sterner  feelings  into 
play.  Backed  by  the  prince,  the  parliament  pursued  its 
measures  against  the  cardinal  unrelentingly;  and  in  the 
course  of  the  criminal  proceedings  which  it  had  instituted 
against  him,  found  him  guilty,  according  to  the  registers  of 
Cantarini,  of  having  embezzled  nine  millions  of  the  public 
money. 

Deeply  mortified  by  such  a  decision  against  her  minister, 
Anne  of  Austria  could  only  fly  for  refuge  to  the  more  prom- 
ising prospects  held  out  by  the  coadjutor ;  but  her  patience 


3U8  LOUIS    XIV.     AND 

was  not  proof  against  the  difficulties  by  which  she  was  sur- 
rounded ;  and  alarmed  by  the  continued  popularity  and  in- 
creasing influence  of  M.  de  Conde — who  had,  despite  the 
resistance  of  the  president,  compelled  an  assembly  of  the 
chambers,  for  the  purpose  of  promulgating  a  new  decree, 
by  which  all  persons  in  and  about  the  court  were  forbidden 
to  maintain  any  intercourse  with  the  exiled  cardinal — she 
fastened  more  eagerly  than  ever  upon  the  prospect  of  escape 
held  out  by  the  project  of  M.  d'Hocquincourt ;  but  as  she 
could  not  consistently  recur  to  the  subject  herself  with 
the  coadjutor,  it  was  M.  de  Lyonne  who  a  second  time 
brought  it  forward,  asserting  that,  sooner  or  later,  if  his 
life  were  spared,  the  prince  would  remain  master  of  the 
field.  Again  and  again  he  reminded  the  prelate  of  his 
promise  to  rid  the  court  of  the  obnoxious  conqueror ;  and 
on  each  occasion  M.  de  Retz,  while  he  steadily  main- 
tained his  resolution  never  to  recognize  the  treacherous  act 
to  which  he  had  been  urged,  still  repeated  his  former  offer 
to  arrest  the  prince  at  the  Orleans  palace ;  or,  should  the 
regent  retain  her  objection  to  that  arrangement,  to  leave 
him  at  large  ;  while  the  coadjutor  himself  should,  so  strongly 
attended  as  to  secure  him  from  personal  violence,  meet  M. 
de  Conde  on  every  public  occasion,  and  oppose  all  such 
of  his  measures  as  might  be  contrary  to  the  interests  of  the 
queen. 

It  was  precisely  at  this  period  that  the  prince  himself 
arrested,  near  Chantilly,  a  valet-de-chambre  of  the  car- 
dinal, who  was  intrusted  with  a  large  packet  of  letters 
for  the  court.  These  he  immediately  forwarded  to  the  par- 
liament, while  the  messenger  was  imprisoned ;  but  the 
letters  were  not  read,  the  assembly  having  forthwith  decid- 
ed that  the  respect  due  to  the  persons  to  whom  they  were 
addressed  must  prevent  them  from  investigating  their  con- 
tents. A  few  days  subsequently  the  messenger  was  set  at 
liberty  ;  but  this  new  offense  still  rankled  at  the  heart  of  the 
queen;  and  her  indignation  was  increased  by  a  suspicion  that 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  369 

M.  de  Lyonne  was  unfaithful  to  her  cause,  and  was  giving 
private  information  to  M.  de  Conde  of  all  the  proceedings 
at  court. 

At  this  conjuncture  the  regent  again  summoned  the  co- 
adjutor to  a  nightly  conference  ;  but  as  it  had  become 
necessary  to  avoid  the  observation  of  Lyonne,  the  meeting 
between  Gabouri  (who  was  intrusted  with  his  introduction) 
and  himself  took  place  in  front  of  the  Jacobin  convent; 
whence,  instead  of  proceeding  as  before  to  the  private  ora- 
tory of  the  queen,  they  passed  into  a  small  gallery,  where 
M.  de  Retz  found  Her  Majesty  in  a  state  of  extreme  ex- 
citement against  both  M.  de  Lyonne  and  the  prince.  She 
reverted  cautiously  to  the  proposition  of  Marshal  d'Hoc- 
quincourt,  and  endeavored  to  justify  it ;  but  the  coadjutor 
replied  that,  however  desirable  such  a  proposal  might 
appear,  its  execution  could  never  be  considered  justifi- 
able. Ultimately  she  became  provoked  by  his  pertinacity, 
and  in  the  excess  of  her  anger  threw  out  doubts  of  his 
sincerity  ;  to  which  M.  de  Retz  listened  in  respectful 
silence  until  the  storm  had  spent  itself,  when  he  said,  grave- 
ly, "  Madam,  Your  Majesty  can  not  wish  the  blood  of  the 
prince  ;  and  I  take  the  liberty  of  asserting  that  you  will 
one  day  thank  me  for  having  opposed  its  being  shed 
against  your  inclination,  which  it  would  be,  madam,  ere 
two  days  are  over,  if  the  proposal  of  M.  d'Hocquincourt 
were  entertained." 

It  is  probable  that  more  blood  than  that  of  M.  de  Conde 
would  have  been  spilled,  if  the  second  project  of  the  mar- 
shal had  indeed  been  carried  into  execution ;  for  it  was  no 
less  than  to  take  possession,  at  daylight,  of  die  Hotel  de 
Coiide,  and  to  seize  the  prince  in  his  bed;  and  when  it  was 
remembered  that  his  house  was  filled  by  his  most  faithful 
adherents,  who  were  all  distrustful  of  the  court,  and  whose 
suspicions  were  perpetually  alimented  by  the  intelligence 
which  they  secretly  obtained  of  the  nightly  audiences 
given   by   the   regent;    while   he   was  himself  one   of  the 

Ci* 


370  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

bravest  men  who  ever  existed,  it  will  at  once  be  perceived 
that  the  attempt  must  have  entailed  a  fearful  amount  of 
bloodshed* 

Conscious  of  the  intrigues  which  wrere  fomenting  against 
him,  M.  de  Conde  shortly  afterward  retired  to  St.  Maur, 
about  three  leagues  from  Paris.  The  court  were  greatly 
startled  by  this  unexpected  proceeding,  and  negotiations 
were  immediately  put  on  foot  to  induce  his  return.  He 
was  perhaps  a  more  inconvenient  adversary  within  the  walls 
of  the  capital  than  without,  but  still  he  was  incomparably 
less  dangerous ;  and  Monsieur,  with  whom  he  had  contin- 
ued to  live  on  friendly  terms  since  his  liberation,  undertook 
to  negotiate  his  reappearance.  The  sensation  created  by 
this  retreat  was  an  ill  omen  for  the  court  party,  in  the  event 
of  his  refusing  to  compromise  ;  for  the  Duchess  de  Longue- 
ville,  although  seriously  indisposed,  immediately  followed 
him ;  and  she  was  accompanied  by  the  Prince  de  Conti, 
the  dukes  de  Nemours,  Bouillon,  La  Rochefoucauld,  and 
Richelieu,  and  the  marshals  Turenne  and  La  Motte.  Thus 
surrounded  by  his  friends,  he  dispatched  the  Duke  de  la 
Rochefoucauld  to  inform  Monsieur  of  his  reasons  for  leaving 
the  capital ;  at  which  Gaston  did  not  conceal  his  surprise, 
even  while  he  expressed  great  regret  at  the  intelligence ; 
and  when  he  found  that  the  regent  had  decided  to  send 
the  Marshal  de  Grammont  to  St.  Maur  to  assure  the 
prince  that  she  had  never  contemplated  any  design  against 
his  person,  he  highly  approved  her  intention ;  at  the  same 
time  that,  never  believing  for  an  instant  Monsieur  de  Conde 
would  be  induced  by  any  representations  to  return  to  Paris, 
he  compromised  himself  unwittingly  by  instructing  the 
marshal  to  give  the  prince  every  assurance  of  his  own  re- 
gard and  support  in  this  and  every  other  emergency  which 
might  occur. 

M.  de  Conde  had  no  sooner  received  the  royal  envoy 
than  he  requested  the  Prince  de  Conti  to  wait  upon  the 
*  Memoires  clu  Cardinal  de  Retz. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  371 

parliament,  and  clearly  to  explain  so  them  his  reasons  for 
the  step  that  he  had  taken,  which  were  moreover  the  same 
already  given  to  Monsieur,  declaring  that  his  brother  could 
not  consider  himself  safe  at  court  until  the  regent  had  dis- 
missed Le  Tellier,  Servien,  and  Lyonne.  He  also  com- 
plained bitterly  of  an  attempt  which  had  been  made  by  the 
cardinal  to  possess  himself  of  Brisach  and  Sedan ;  and  he 
concluded  by  announcing  to  the  assembly  that  the  prince 
had  dispatched  one  of  his  household  to  their  body  with  a 
letter  to  the  same  effect.  The  queen  had  been  equally 
provident ;  and  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  had  forward- 
ed a  letter  to  the  president,  commanding  that  the  meeting 
should  not  come  to  any  division  without  awaiting  her  sanc- 
tion;  upon  which  the  Duke  d'Orleans,  anxious,  according 
to  his  usual  policy,  to  maintain  his  position  with  both  par- 
ties, declared  that  his  conscience  compelled  him  to  testify 
that  Her  Majesty  had  never  conceived  an  idea  of  arresting 
the  prince,  nor  had  she  taken  any  part  whatever  in  the 
proceedings  at  Brisach.  He  spoke,  in  short,  as  though  he 
had  only  the  interest  of  the  regent  at  heart. 

It  was  decided  that  the  letter  of  M.  de  Conde  should  be 
referred  to  her  Majesty  ;  and,  as  the  meeting  broke  up,  the 
coadjutor  ventured  to  inquire  of  Monsieur  if  he  had  not 
felt  some  apprehension  that  the  assembly  would  demand 
from  him  a  guaranty  for  the  safety  of  the  prince,  after  the 
positive  assurances  to  that  effect  which  he  had  given ;  but 
Gaston,  like  the  lion  who  had  braved  his  own  shadow  in  a 
mirror,  and  became  scared  by  the  reflection,  had  already 
began  to  repent  his  own  energy,  and  merely  desired  M. 
de  Retz  to  follow  him,  when  he  declared  that  he  would 
explain  his  reasons. 

He  accordingly  led  the  way  to  his  library,  drew  the  bolts, 
and  throwing  his  hat  violently  upon  a  table,  exclaimed,  with 
an  oath,  that  either  the  coadjutor  was  a  great  dupe,  or  that 
he  was  himself  a  great  fool ;  demanding  if  the  prelate  be- 
lieved that  the  queen  really  wished  the  prince  to  return  to 


•?72  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

court  1  M.  de  Retz  replied  that  he  had  no  doubt  upon 
the  subject,  provided  he  returned  in  a  position  to  admit  of 
his  arrest  or  of  his  destruction.  The  duke  laughed  bitterly, 
declaring  he  felt  convinced  that  the  regent  desired  him 
back  upon  any  terms ;  for  that,  only  two  days  previously, 
she  had  told  him  that  either  M.  de  Conde  or  herself  must 
give  way ;  and  that  now  she  required  him  to  procure  his 
return  at  any  price,  and  even  to  engage  his  own  honor  to 
the  parliament  for  his  surety  ;  that  the  prince  had  left  Paris 
on  the  previous  morning  to  secure  himself  against  arrest*, 
and  that  he  would  make  a  heavy  bet  in  favor  of  his  being 
back  again  in  two  days,  from  the  turn  which  affairs  were 
taking  ;  while,  as  for  himself,  he  should  start  for  Blois,  and 
leave  both  parties  do  as  they  pleased.* 

The  prince  fulfilled  the  prophecy,  but  without  abating 
one  particle  of  his  dignity.  He  insisted  on  the  dismissal  of 
the  three  individuals  already  named,  whom  he  designated 
as  "  the  creatures  of  Mazarin ;"  and  his  demand  was  sup- 
ported by  the  prayer  of  the  parliament,  who  sent  a  deputa- 
tion to  the  king  to  entreat  him  to  recall  M.  de  Conde ;  and, 
for  that  purpose,  to  remove  all  impediments  to  his  return. 
The  queen  was,  however,  a  considerable  time  before  she 
could  bring  herself  to  such  a  resolution ;  and  meanwhile 
vehemently  declared  that  she  would  not  dismiss  the  three 
persons  who  had  been  named.  Nevertheless,  she  event- 
ually conceded  the  point,  and  the  prince  returned  to  Paris; 
but  for  some  time  he  refused  to  present  himself  at  court,  to 
the  great  surprise  of  every  one.  On  one  occasion,  as  the 
king  was  returning  from  his  bath,  they  accidentally  met, 
which  extremely  displeased  the  regent,  who  declared  that 
she  considered  M.  de  Conde  to  have  committed  a  great  in- 
discretion in  frequenting  the  same  localities  as  the  king 
before  he  had  presented  himself  at  the  palace  ;  and,  finally, 
on  one  solitary  occasion,  overruled  by  the  advice  of  his 
friends,  he  went  l  here  accompanied  by  Monsieur. 
*  Memoires  du  Cardinal  de  Retz. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  373 

This  ceremony  was  no  sooner  over  than  the  Duke  d'Or- 
leans  took  offense  at  some  trifling  annoyance  to  which  he 
was  subjected,  and  in  his  turn  left  Paris,  and  withdrew  to 
Limours;  which  so  alarmed  the  queen,  who  could  not  afford 
at  such  a  juncture  to  lose  any  support,  however  weak,  that 
she  forthwith  commanded  Mademoiselle  to  follow  him, 
and  to  induce  him  to  return ;  while  so  great  was  her  anx- 
iety upon  the  subject,  that  she  even  lent  her  own  coach 
and  her  cream-colored  horses,  in  order  to  expedite  the  de- 
parture of  her  niece.  The  prince  followed  shortly  after- 
ward, and,  more  successful  than  herself  (for  Monsieur  had 
refused  to  listen  to  her  in  her  character  as  envoy  of  the 
queen),  he  brought  him  back  in  triumph  to  the  capital. 
The  next  schism  was  that  of  the  Princess-Palatine  and  M. 
de  Conde,  of  which  the  pretext  was  that  he  had  absented 
himself  from  the  courts  on  the  occasion  of  a  trial  in  which 
her  interests  were  involved ;  and  she  forthwith  attached 
herself  to  the  interests  of  the  queen  and  Mazarin. 

The  regency  was  drawing  to  its  close  amid  all  these  pro- 
ceedings ;  and  the  queen  forwarded  two  declarations  to  the 
parliament,  one  of  which  declared  that  Mazarin  was  ban- 
ished forever  from  the  kingdom,  and  the  other  that  the 
innocence  of  M.  de  Conde  was  fully  recognized,  and  that  he 
was  acquitted  of  all  which  had  been  imputed  to  him  against 
the  authority  of  the  king.  Her  last  act  of  exclusive  sover- 
eign authority  was  worthy  of  her  previous  tergiversations 
and  double  policy.*  The  declarations  above  recorded 
were  registered  on  the  5th  of  September  (1651),  and  on 
the  following  day  the  minority  of  the  king  ceased.  During 
the  evening,  the  Sieur  de  Rhodez,  grand  master  of  the  cer- 
emonies, apprised  the  parliament  that  the  king  would  re- 
pair to  the  palace  on  the  7th,  to  hold  his  Bed  of  Justice,]  as 

*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 

t  A  name  given  to  the  throne,  or  seat,  upon  which  the  king  took  his 
place  during  the  extraordinary  meetings  of  parliament.  The  bed  was 
furnished  with  five  cushions,  and  stood  under  a  canopy.     Upon  one  of 


374  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

the  declaration  of  his  majority ;  and,  upon  the  same  night, 
the  Marquis  de  Gesvres,  captain  of  the  body-guards,  the 
grand-masters,  and  masters  of  the  ceremonies,  and  the 
Sieur  de  Reaux,  lieutenant  of  the  guards,  having  made  the 
tour  of  the  whole  palace,  took  possession  of  the  keys,  and 
remained  within  the  gates  to  make  the  necessary  prepara- 
tions for  the  next  day's  ceremonial. 

On  the  morning  of  the  7th,  the  whole  court  left  the  Palais- 
Royal,  with  the  royal  trumpeters  in  the  van.  Then  came 
a  troop  of  light-horse,  succeeded  by  that  of  the  grand-pro- 
vost, closely  followed  by  two  hundred  individuals,  represent- 
in^  the  nobility  of  France.  These  were  succeeded  in  their 
turn  by  the  governors  of  provinces,  the  knights  of  the  several 
orders,  the  first  gentlemen  of  the  chamber,  and  the  great 
officers  of  the  king's  household ;  in  whose  wake  rode  six 
of  the  king's  trumpeters  dressed  in  blue  velvet,  preceding 
six  mounted  heralds  in  complete  armor,  with  accoutre- 
ments of  crimson  velvet,  powdered  with  fleurs-de-lis  in  gold, 
bearing  their  staves  ;  and  behind  these  advanced  the  mar- 
shals, two  abreast,  all  richly  attired,  and  mounted  upon  tall 
war-horses,  whose  housings  were  overlaid  with  gold  and 
silver  embroidery. 

Behind  them  rode  the  Count  d'Harcourt  alone,  as  Grand- 
Equerry  of  France,  wearing  in  a  scarf  the  sword  of  the  sover- 
eign attached  to  his  shoulder-belt,  and  resting  upon  his  arm 
in  its  scabbard  of  blue  velvet,  studded  with  golden  fleur-de-lis. 
He  was  attired  in  a  doublet  of  cloth  of  gold  and  silver,  and 
and  wore  similar  embroidery  wrought  all  over  the  remain- 
der of  his  dress.  He  rode  a  mottled-gray  charger,  whose 
housings  were  of  crimson  velvet,  laced  with  Spanish  point 
in  gold ;  and  instead   of  reins  he  guided  his  horse  by  two 

these  cushions  the  king  seated  himself,  extending  his  arms  and  legs  upon 
three  others,  and  using  the  fifth  to  lean  against.  The  word  gave  its 
name  to  the  meeting  at  which  it  was  used.  The  Beds  of  Justice  were 
originated  by  Philip  the  Tall,  in  1318.  On  these  occasions  all  the  great 
officers  of  parliament  appeared  in  crimson  robes. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  375 

scarfs  of  black  taffetas.  An  immense  crowd  of  pages  and 
footmen,  succeeded  in  new  liveries,  and  covered  with  white, 
blue,  and  red  feathers,  and  bare-headed,  who  followed  im- 
mediately behind  the  count,  and  separated  him  from  the 
foot-guards,  as  well  as  his  train-bearer,  the  door-keepers, 
and  the  mace-bearers. 

After  these  came  the  king  himself,  calm,  dignified,  and 
grave,  to  a  degree  astonishing  for  his  years;  and  securing 
by  the  premature  majesty  of  his  deportment,  say  cotem- 
poraneous  writers,  the  admiration  of  all  ranks,  who  loaded 
him  with  prayers  and  blessings  as  he  passed  along.  His 
dress  was  so  entirely  overlaid  with  gold  embroidery  that 
neither  the  color  nor  the  material  could  be  distinguished ; 
and  he  was  already  so  tall  that  it  was  difficult  to  believe 
that  he  had  only  just  attained  his  fourteenth  year.  This 
circumstance  acted  greatly  upon  the  feelings  of  the  crowd, 
who  seeing  one  of  the  young  nobility  riding  near  him, 
who  was  of  the  same  age  as  himself,  but  considerably 
smaller  in  stature,  began  with  increased  enthusiasm  to  peal 
forth  their  cry  of "  Long  live  the  king!"  a  demonstration  which 
so  startled  the  cream-colored  charger  upon  which  he  was 
mounted  that  it  reared  and  plunged  violently  ;  but  the  boy- 
king  managed  it  with  so  much  ease  and  self-possession  that 
the  incident  only  tended  to  give  the  populace  a  still  higher 
idea  of  their  young  monarch. 

Having  been  received  at  the  door  of  the  holy  chapel, 
where  he  was  harangued  by  the  Bishop  of  Bayeux  in  full 
episcopal  costume,  Louis  XIV.  alighted  to  hear  mass,  after 
which  he  proceeded  to  take  his  seat  in  the  parliament ;  where, 
covering  himself,  he  addressed  the  meeting  in  these  terms  : 

"  Gentlemen,  I  have  attended  my  parliament  in  order 
to  inform  you  that,  according  to  the  law  of  my  kingdom, 
I  shall  myself  assume  its  government ;  and  I  trust  that,  by 
the  goodness  of  God,  it  will  be  with  piety  and  justice. 
My  chancellor  will  inform  you  more  particularly  of  my 
intentions." 


376  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

On  receiving  this  command,  the  chancellor,  who  had 
hitherto  remained  standing,  took  his  seat,  ard  spoke  at 
considerable  length,  expatiating  with  much  detail  upon  the 
declaration  of  the  sovereign.  When  he  had  concluded,  the 
queen  made  a  slight  inclination ;  and  addressing  the  king, 
said,  in  a  firm  and  clear  voice, 

"  Sir,  this  is  the  ninth  year  in  which,  by  the  last  ■will  of 
the  deceased  king,  my  much  honored  lord,  I  have  been 
intrusted  with  the  care  of  your  education  and  the  govern- 
ment of  the  state.  God  having,  by  his  will,  blessed  my 
endeavors,  and  preserved  your  person,  which  is  so  dear 
and  precious  to  all  your  subjects,  now  that  the  law  of  the 
kingdom  calls  you  to  the  rule  of  this  monarchy,  I  transfer 
to  you,  with  great  satisfaction,  the  power  which  had  been 
granted  me  to  govern;  and  I  trust  that  God  will  bestow 
on  you  the  grace  to  assist  your  measures  with  his  strength 
and  prudence,  in  order  that  your  reign  may  be  rendered 
fortunate." 

To  which  the  king  replied,  "  I  thank  you,  madam,  for  the 
care  which  it  has  pleased  you  to  take  of  my  education,  and 
the  administration  of  my  kingdom ;  I  pray  you  to  continue 
to  me  your  good  counsels ;  and  I  desire  that,  after  myself, 
you  should  be  the  head  of  my  council." 

As  His  Majesty  ceased  speaking,  the  queen  rose  from  her 
seat,  and  approached  to  salute  the  new  monarch ;  but  he, 
descending  at  the  same  instant  from  his  Bed  of  Justice, 
walked  toward  her,  and  embraced  her ;  after  which  they 
both  returned  to  their  places. 

The  Duke  d'Anjou  next  rose,  approached  his  royal  broth- 
er, and  sinking  upon  his  knee,  kissed  his  hand,  and  made 
declaration  of  his  fidelity.  He  was  followed  by  the  Duke 
d'Orleans,  the  Prince  de  Conti,  and  all  the  other  princes 
save  M.  de  Conde,  who  had,  as  was  soon  ascertained, 
absented  himself  from  Paris.  The  chancellor,  the  dukes 
and  peers,  the  ecclesiastical  dignitaries,  the  marshals  of 
France,  the  officers  of  the  crown,  and  all  who  were  present 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  377 

at  the  meeting  in  like  manner  rose,  and  tendered  their  alle- 
giance to  the  king ;  and  although  the  absence  of  the  Prince 
de  Conde  had  created  a  vague  feeling  of  apprehension 
among  the  court  party,  the  populace  fully  compensated  for 
this  partial  gloom  by  the  unanimous  acclamations  which 
accompanied  the  royal  procession  to  the  gates  of  the  Palais- 
Royal  ;  where  the  stripling  who  had  left  it  a  few  hours  be- 
fore in  subjection  to  more  than  one  authority,  as  well  indefinite 
as  defined,  threw  off  his  gorgeous  mantle  as  the  sovereign 
of  one  of  the  proudest  thrones  in  Europe.  Mademoiselle, 
attended  by  the  Queen  of  England,  who  was  incognita,  wit- 
nessed the  march  of  the  procession  from  the  Hotel  de  Schom- 
berg,  and  afterward  attended  the  meeting  of  the  parliament, 
where  she  occupied  the  sky-light. 

We  must  not,  however,  conclude  this  chapter  without 
remarking  that  the  young  king,  only  a  short  time  before 
his  majority,  had,  boy  as  he  was,  given  a  proof  of  that  fond- 
ness for  female  society,  and  that  passion  for  female  beauty, 
which  was  to  be  his  leading  characteristic  throughout  the 
greater  part  of  his  life.  Mademoiselle  accompanied  him 
several  times  on  horseback,  on  all  which  occasions  she  was 
attended  by  Madame  de  Frontenac ;  and  Louis  derived 
so  much  pleasure  from  these  excursions,  "  that  the  queen," 
says  Mademoiselle,  whose  vanity  easily  misled  her  upon 
subjects  of  this  nature,  "  imagined  that  the  king  was  in  love 
with  Madame  de  Frotenac  ;  and  in  consequence,  put  an  end 
to  these  parties  which  greatly  annoyed  him.  As  no  reason 
was  given  for  the  interference,  he  offered  the  queen  a  hun- 
dred pistoles  for  the  poor,  every  time  that  he  should  go  out 
on  horseback ;  for  he  imagined  that  a  motive  of  charity  would 
overcome  her  indolence,  which  he  believed  to  be  the  cause 
of  the  prohibition ;  and  as  she  refused  the  offer  he  said  angrily, 
'  When  once  I  become  my  own  master,  I  will  go  where  I 
please ;  and  I  shall  soon  be  so.'  After  which  he  turned 
on  his  heel,  and  walked  away.  The  queen  wept  bitterly, 
and  so  did  Louis  himself,  but  they  were  soon  reconciled ; 


378     LOUIS     XIV.     AND     THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE. 

and  Her  Majesty  forbade  him  to  speak  to  Madame  de  Fron- 
tenac,  telling  him  that  she  was  the  relative  of  M.  de  Cha- 
vigny,  who  was  a  friend  of  the  prince.  I  believe,"  adds 
Mademoiselle  sententiously,  "that  the  true  reason  of  this 
prohibition  existed  in  a  fear  that  the  king  would  accustom 
himself  too  much  to  my  society ;  and  that  in  time,  either 
through  the  arguments  of  Madame  de  Frontenac  or  by  the 
force  of  habit,  he  would  end  by  loving  me  ;  and  that  when 
once  he  did  so,  he  would  understand  that  I  was  the  best 
match  he  could  find  in  Europe  with  the  exception  of  the 
Infanta  of  Spain.  Madame  de  Choisy  informed  me  of 
all  that  had  passed  between  the  king  and  queen ;  she 
had  been  told  of  it  in  order  that  I  should  not  again  pro- 
pose to  ride,  for  fear  of  displeasing  the  queen.  Neverthe- 
less, one  more  riding  party  was  formed,  but  the  king  did 
not  come  near  either  Madame  de  Frontenac  or  myself, 
and  cast  down  his  eyes  whenever  he  passed  near  us.  I 
confess  that  I  was  greatly  annoyed ;  for  I  placed  more 
dependence  upon  the  manner  in  which  the  king  conduct- 
ed himself  toward  me,  and  the  pleasure  which  he  took 
in  my  society,  than  on  all  the  negotiations ;  and  this  way 
of  becoming  a  queen  was  more  agreeable  to  me  than  any 
other."  * 

*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Youth  of  Louis  XIV.  and  Philip  d'Anjou — Early  Associations — Igno- 
rance of  the  young  King — Armand  de  Guiche — Subjection  of  the  King 
to  the  Cardinal — State  of  the  Kingdom — Discontent  of  Monsieur — 
Courage  of  Mademoiselle — Revolt  of  Conde — March  of  the  Court 
against  Bordeaux — Return  of  Mazarin — Paris  in  Arms — Submission 
of  Turenne — Declaration  against  the  Princes — Sale  of  the  Cardinal's 
Library — Charles  II.  after  the  battle  of  Worcester — The  Duke  de 
Nemours — Madame  de  Chatillon — Diplomacy  of  Mademoiselle — The 
City  of  Orleans  declares  for  the  Fronde — Cowardice  of  Monsieur — 
The  Countess  de  Fiesque — Mademoiselle  declares  herself,  and  takes 
Orleans. 

Having  now  traced  the  stream  of  events  which  flowed 
so  rapidly  from  the  birth  of  Louis  XIV.  to  his  majority, 
and  which  it  was  incumbent  upon  us  to  define,  in  order 
to  render  intelligible  the  position  and  identity  of  the  per- 
sons by  whom  he  was  immediately  surrounded,  and  the 
peculiar  circumstances  amid  which  he  succeeded  to  the 
throne,  we  must  be  permitted  to  occupy  ourselves  more 
exclusively  than  we  have  yet  done  with  the  young  sover- 
eign himself. 

We  have  already  made  some  slight  allusions  to  the  prin- 
ciples upon  which  both  his  own  so-called  education,  and 
that  of  his  brother,  Philip,  were  conducted  ;  and  nothing 
could  have  been  more  melancholy  in  the  result  to  both. 
Naturally  egotistical,  haughty,  and  overbearing,  Louis  was 
encouraged  in  these  very  qualities;  and  he,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  revenged  the  submission  which  he  was  com- 
polled  to  assume  rather  than  to  feel  at  the  court  of  the 
regent,  upon  those  who  composed  his  own ;  while  the 
Duke  d'Anjou,  who  required  a  stimulant  to  self-assertion 


380  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

and  manly  tastes,  was  applauded  for  puerile  habits  and 
conceits,  which  were  discordant  both  to  his  sex  and  his 
high  station. 

From  his  earliest  youth  Louis  XIV.  exhibited  great  dis- 
cernment, and  gave  evidences  of  that  correct  judgment 
which  led  him  in  after  years  to  show  favor  to  men  who 
were  distinguished  for  high  and  noble  qualities ;  but  even 
while  he  lauded  and  appreciated  the  courage  or  the  intel- 
lect which  must  hereafter  tend  to  illustrate  his  reign,  he 
began,  even  while  yet  a  boy,  to  show  himself  jealous  of 
those  social  qualifications  in  which  he  believed  himself 
capable  of  excelling,  and  wherein  he  was  aware  that  he 
could  not  brook  any  rivalry-  Reared  in  the  conviction 
that  he  would  be  the  handsomest  man  of  his  court,  and 
without  dispute  the  most  idolized,  he,  as  a  natural  conse- 
quence, soon  learned  to  distrust  and  dislike  all  those  who 
by  their  personal  beauty,  their  wit,  or  their  intellect, 
threatened  him  with  even  a  far-off  competition.  Nor  was 
this  weakness  combated  by  Anne  of  Austria,  who,  far 
from  seeking  to  teach  him  contempt  for  so  ignoble  a  feel- 
ing, shared  it  with  him  to  its  fullest  extent;  and  soon 
looked  chillingly  upon  such  of  the  young  nobles  about  her 
son  as  appeared  likely  to  become  his  rivals. 

The  greatest  misfortune  attached  to  a  regency  is  the 
effort  made  by  those  in  authority  to  prolong  to  its  utmost 
extent  the  infancy  and  helplessness  of  the  royal  minor. 
The  least  guilty  of  these  exalted  guardians  content  them- 
selves by  maintaining  their  charge  in  a  perfect  state  of 
ignorance  concerning  those  duties  whose  knowledge  is 
imperative  to  individuals  hereafter  to  be  intrusted  with 
the  government  of  a  state,  and  the  welfare  of  a  people ; 
and  in  order  to  carry  this  point  they  are  not  only  careful 
to  avoid  every  opportunity  of  mooting  questions  likely  to 
lead  to  such  a  knowledge,  but  also  to  remove  from  about 
the  persons  of  their  royal  pupils  all  such  companions  as 
are  likely  to  inspire  a  taste  for  study  and  inquiry. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  381 

This  was  precisely  the  position  of  Louis  XIV.  With 
the  exception  of  his  devotional  exercises,  sufficient  milita- 
ry skill  to  review  his  troops,  and  a  perfect  familiarity  with 
court  etiquet,  the  young  monarch,  when  he  took  posses- 
sion of  the  throne  of  France,  was  utterly  ignorant ;  and 
could  not  have  competed  with  the  most  shallow  school- 
boy of  his  age.  This  effect  the  regent  and  her  minister 
had  been  anxious  to  accomplish.  Louis,  as  we  have  else- 
where said,  "  enacted  the  king"  to  perfection  ;  his  personal 
grace  entranced  the  populace ;  his  polished  self-possession 
was  the  proverb  of  the  court ;  and  his  innate  pride  pre- 
vented all  assumption  of  equality  on  the  part  of  his  custo- 
mary associates  ;  while  in  every  question  of  state  he  was 
a  cipher,  helpless  and  dependent  upon  the  intellect  and 
energy  of  others;  and,  although  possessed  of  a  strong  will, 
which  under  other  circumstances  might  have  enabled  him 
to  throw  off  with  a  bound  the  shackles  that  had  been 
wound  about  him,  so  conscious  of  his  own  deficiencies 
that  he  could  not  command  sufficient  courage  to  trust  in 
his  mental  resources,  such  as  they  were. 

Of  all  the  young  nobles  who  had  been  placed  about  his 
person,  none  caused  so  much  uneasiness  to  the  regent  as 
the  Count  de  Guiche.  Independently  of  his  great  physi- 
cal beauty,  his  frank  fearlessness  led  him  to  speak  without 
reserve  both  of  persons  and  occurrences;  and  the  queen 
and  her  minister  soon  discovered  that  by  this  very  incon- 
venient quality,  he  was  teaching  the  king  to  think,  the 
most  dangerous  habit  which  he  could  acquire  under  the 
circumstances,  as  regarded  their  particular  interests. 

Armand  de  Guiche  had  been  the  first  friend  of  Louis, 
and  as  he  grew  to  boyhood,  the  king  exhibited  more  par- 
tiality toward  himself,  the  Prince  de  Marsillac,  and  the 
Marquis  de  Vardes,  than  to  any  other  of  his  young  court- 
iers ;  and  this  increased  so  greatly  as  time  wore  on,  that 
Anne  of  Austria  determined,  if  possible,  to  diminish  so 
inconvenient  a  regard  ;   and   for  this  purpose  expatiated 


382  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

before  him  on  the  good  qualities  of  the  Prince  de  Marsil- 
lac,  who,  being  plain  in  his  person  and  dull  in  his  intel- 
lect, appeared  to  her  to  be  a  safer  associate  for  the  young 
king  ;  whose  determined  character  and  somewhat  roman- 
tic temperament  were  not  likely  to  be  influenced  by  a 
nature  at  once  so  gentle  and  so  insignificant  as  that  of  the 
prince.* 

It  is  probable  that  had  no  attempt  been  made  to  alien- 
ate the  regard  of  Louis  from  Armand  de  Guiche  it  would, 
like  his  other  partialities,  have  worn  itself  out  before  the 
dreaded  consequences  had  been  accomplished ;  but  this 
opposition  rather  tended  to  make  the  young  monarch  over- 
look the  discrepancies  of  their  respective  characters,  and 
to  increase  his  estimation  of  his  friend's  companionable 
qualities.  We  have,  moreover,  already  shown  that  the 
will  of  Louis  was  peremptory  where  he  could  exercise  it ; 
and  the  society  of  De  Guiche  was  consequently  no  sooner 
interdicted  than  he  found  the  favorite  indispensable  in  all 
his  amusements  ;  and  his  resolution  not  to  submit  to  the 
required  estrangement  assumed  so  determined  an  air  of 
affection,  that  the  queen  became  more  alarmed  than  ever. 
The  father  of  the  young  count  was  in  the  field  fighting  the 
battles  of  the  state,  and  this  fact  rendered  her  position  still 
more  embarrassing ;  while  the  friendship,  for  which  she 
was  herself  deeply  indebted  to  the  Duchess  de  Grammont, 
prevented  her  from  taking  any  step  which  might  imply  an 
affront  to  his  family. 

This  apparent  regard  consequently  continued,  but  it 
was  not  destined  to  last.  The  rivalry  was  too  close  and 
too  dangerous ;  and  the  young  count  soon  learned  to  esti- 
mate at  their  just  value  the  demonstrations  of  which  he  was 
the  object. 

It  was  with  the  qualities  and  the  defects  which  we  have 
endeavored  to  describe,  that  Louis  XIV.  attained  his  ma- 
jority ;  but,  conscious  of  the  intellectual  inferiority,  to 
*  Meinoires  de  Madame  de  Motteville. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  383 

which  allusion  has  been  already  made,  he  did  not  attempt 
to  assert  himself,  save  on  particular  occasions  when  his 
temper  gave  way  before  opposition,  but  suffered  himself 
still  to  be  guided  by  the  will  of  his  mother  and  the  counsels 
of  Mazarin,  whose  influence  over  the  mind  of  Anne  of 
Austria  proved  more  powerful  during  his  exile  than  it  had 
been  at  the  period  of  his  sojourn  in  the  capital.  The  king 
had,  on  his  Bed  of  Justice  (described  in  the  last  chapter), 
published  three  declarations.  The  first  against  blasphemy  ; 
the  second  against  duelling ;  and  the  third  to  recognize 
the  innocence  of  the  Prince  de  Conde,  who  had  not,  how- 
ever, awaited  this  royal  exoneration  in  order  to  become 
guilty,  at  least  in  design,  of  a  second  crime  of  the  same 
nature  with  that  of  which  he  had  been  formerly  accused. 
At  the  same  time  the  council  was  reorganized.  The  Mar- 
quis de  Chateauneuf  assumed  the  principal  direction  of  af- 
fairs, which  he  had  so  long  awaited  ;  the  seals  lately  with- 
drawn from  the  president  Mole,  were  restored  to  him ; 
and,  finally,  M.  de  Lavieuville,  who  twenty-seven  years 
previously  had  opened  the  door  of  the  council-chamber  to 
Richelieu,  then  a  young  man,  and  by  whom  he  was  after- 
ward himself  excluded,  was  created  superintendent  of 
finance,  through  the  interest  of  his  son  with  the  Princess- 
Palatine.  He  ably  seconded  the  influence  which  had 
been  exerted  in  his  behalf;  for  his  first  ministerial  meas- 
ure was  that  of  advancing  four  hundred  thousand  crowns 
as  a  loan  to  the  queen.  If  this  were,  as  it  was  generally 
considered,  an  error  in  judgment,  and  a  solecism  in  econ- 
omy, it  could  not  in  any  case  be  designated  as  a  youthful 
act  of  folly,  for  the  president  Mole,  who  was  the  younger 
of  the  three  ministers,  had  already  attained  his  sixty-sev- 
enth year. 

Meanwhile  France  was  apparently  tranquil,  but  it  was 
easy  to  judge  that  the  calm  was  a  mere  breathing-space; 
a  transient  rest  between  two  civil  wars.  The  first,  save 
as  regarded   individuals,   had   been  of  little  import  in  its 


384  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

results ;  the  issue  of  that  which  was  to  succeed  was  yet  to 
be  computed.  The  king  could  not  be  said  to  possess  an 
army ;  while  the  two  bodies  of  troops  on  the  frontiers  of 
the  Low  Countries  were  doing  infinitely  more  injury  to 
their  own  countrymen  than  to  the  Spaniards.  The  force 
commanded  by  the  Marshal  d'Aumont*  was  his  own  ;  and 
the  other  belonged  to  the  Prince  de  Conde,  and  was 
commanded  by  Saulx-Tavannes ;  the  first  made  a  few 
demonstrations  which  led  to  no  result,  while  the  latter 
remained  passive,  and  menacing  from  its  very  neutrality. 
The  Marshal  de  la  Ferte-Senecteret  was  in  Lorraine  with 
another  corps,  where  he  gained  several  slight  advantages, 
which  served  to  keep  the  court  in  spirits,  although  their 
result  was  unimportant.  In  Italy  the  troops  were  inac- 
tive, as  the  King  of  Spain  was  occupied  for  the  moment 
with  Catalonia,  where  the  Count  de  MarchainJ  had  shut 
himself  up  in  Barcelona,  which  the  Marquis  de  Mortare 
was  besieo-incj  on  the  land  side,  while  Don  Juan  of 
Austria   blockaded   it  by   sea.     In   the   south,   where   the 

*  Anthony  d'Aumont,  de  Rochebaron,  Marquis  d'Isle  et  du  Ville- 
quier,  Marshal  of  France,  in  whose  favor  Louis  XIV.  raised  the  estate 
of  Aumont  to  the  dignity  of  a  duchy-peerage. 

t  Henry  de  Senectere,  called  the  Marshal  de  la  Ferte,  was  of  a  very 
ancient  family  of  Auvergne,  and  was  the  son  of  Henry  de  Senectere, 
the  king's  lieutenant  in  Champagne,  and  ambassador  in  England.  He 
displayed  his  courage  at  the  siege  of  Rochelle  (162(5),  at  the  capture  of 
Mayenne,  and  Treves,  and  at  the  battle  of  Avesnes.  Appointed  adju- 
tant-general, he  distinguished  himself  at  Rocroy  and  Sens,  and  defeated 
the  Duke  of  Lorraine  in  1650.  Made  Marshal  of  France  in  1651,  he 
saved  Nancy,  and  took  Chaste,  Mirecourt,  Vaudrevauge,  Montmedi, 
and  Gravelines  (1651-58).  He  died  in  1681,  at  the  age  of  eighty-two 
years. 

X  The  Count  de  Marchain  was  liberated  from  a  long  imprisotiment 
at  the  same  period  as  the  princes,  and  was  immediately  elevated  not 
only  to  the  rank  of  a  general  officer,  but  also  to  that  of  a  vice-roy.  Such 
a  sudden  revolution  of  fortune  would,  at  any  other  period,  have  excited 
unbounded  astonishment;  but  during  the  early  years  of  Louis  XIV.  it 
occurred  so  frequently,  that  it  occasioned  little  comment. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  385 

disbanded  corps  which  had  served  under  the  Duke 
d'Epernon  and  the  Marshal  de  la  Meilleraye  during  the 
last  campaign,  were  scattered  over  the  country,  there 
still  existed  considerable  excitement ;  and  a  great  desire 
to  resume  a  war  by  which  many  had  profited,  while  few 
had  suffered. 

Navy  there  was  none.  England,  Spain,  and  Holland 
were  the  three  great  maritime  forces  of  Europe.* 

Monsieur  was  as  discontented  and  as  helpless  as  ever ; 
while,  as  time  wore  on,  he  became  more  conscious  of  the 
moral  defects  which  had  rendered  him  powerless  at  a 
moment  when  he  should  have  occupied  a  prominent 
position  on-  the  national  canvas.  Always  occupied  with 
trifles,  and  greedy  of  securing  every  personal  advantage, 
he  so  thoroughly  embarrassed  his  private  affairs,  that  he 
only  succeeded  in  alienating  the  very  persons  whom  he 
was  anxious  to  attach.  Thus  he  contrived  nearly  to  break 
with  the  coadjutor  without  remaining  upon  terms  with 
M.  de  Conde ;  and  he  distrusted  the  parliament,  which 
repaid  him  by  a  like  compliment.  He  exhibited  sulkiness 
towards  Mademoiselle,  who  expressed,  with  consider- 
able vivacity,  her  regret  at  the  insignificance  to  which  he 
was  reduced  by  his  own  weakness;  and  in  order  to  give 
himself  some  appearance  of  movement,  he  set  on  foot 
twenty  different  negotiations  to  bring  about  an  alliance 
between  the  king  and  herself,  always  retiring  a  pace  as 
any  advance  was  made  toward  him.  There  can  be  no 
doubt,  however,  that  he  contemplated  the  possibility  of 
this  marriage  with  at  least  as  much  repugnance  as  pride ; 
for  if,  on  the  one  hand,  it  was  destined  to  make  his  eldest 
daughter  a  queen,  on  the  other  it  deprived  the  younger 
children  of  every  hope  of  her  immense  inheritance  ;  which 
would,  as  a  natural  consequence,  be  entirely  absorbed  by 
so  august  an  alliance.  His  great  dependence,  when  he 
dwelt  upon  this  phase  of  the  subject,  was  based  on  the 
"  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 

VOL.   I. R 


386  LOUIS      XIV.      AND 

coolness  of  the  queen  toward  Mademoiselle,  whose 
assiduity  in  paying  her  court  to  her  royal  aunt,  did  not 
remove  from  the  mind  of  Anne  of  Austria  a  certain  feeling 
of  avoidance,  which  she  only  contrived  to  conceal  when 
she  could  render  the  agency  of  her  niece  profitable  to  her 
own  projects  ;  while  that  niece,  wearied  in  her  turn  with 
constantly  awaiting  a  husband  who  never  came,  and  of 
being  made  the  puppet  of  state  expediency,  lost  no  oppor- 
tunity of  seconding  the  endeavor  of  Madame  to  rouse  the 
Duke  d'Orleans  from  his  apathy;  and  to  induce  him  to 
assume  an  attitude  which  would  enable  him  to  compel  the 
terms  he  appeared  to  be  inclined  only  to  solicit. 

Despite  her  persevering  and  futile  weakness  on  the 
article  of  her  marriage,  and  the  paltry  and  puerile  atten- 
tion which  she  bestowed  upon  petty  observance  and  empty 
etiquet,  Mademoiselle  possessed  a  fund  of  courage  both 
mental  and  physical,  which  betrayed  the  descendant  of 
Henry  IV.  more  than  the  daughter  of  Gaston  of  Orleans ; 
and  this  she  exerted  in  favor  of  her  darling  ambition,  by 
prompting  her  father  to  some  serious  act  of  rebellion 
which  might  tend  to  establish  him  in  a  more  suitable 
position,  and  enable  her  to  secure  an  alliance  commen- 
surate with  her  wishes.  The  Prince  of  Wales,  the  arch- 
duke, and  even  the  emperor,  had  less  attraction  in  her 
eyes  than  the  boy-king,  who  was  only  just  emerging  into 
manhood ;  but  whom,  from  the  period  of  his  majority,  she 
began  to  regard  with  other  views  than  she  had  previously 
been  willing  to  admit  even  to  herself.  The  emergencies 
of  the  state  rendered  her  enormous  revenue  a  matter 
of  extreme  importance ;  and  as  she  was  accustomed  to 
magnify  all  her  advantages,  she  had  no  difficulty  in  esti- 
mating this  fact  at  its  full  value  ;  wearied,  however,  as  we 
have  shown,  by  the  delays,  subterfuges,  and  intrigues 
which  presented  themselves  as  obstacles  to  the  marriage, 
she  boldly  determined  to  extort  from  fear  what  she  had 
been    unable   to    command   from   a   milder  feeling ;    and 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  387 

thence  her  continual  attempt  to  awaken  the  stagnant 
spirit  of  Monsieur. 

The  Prince  de  Conde  had,  as  we  have  shown,  left 
Paris  on  the  evening  preceding  the  declaration  of  the 
king's  majority,  and  immediately  proceeded  to  Trie, 
where  the  Duke  de  Longueville  was  then  residing,  in 
the  hope  of  inducing  him  once  more  to  share  his  fortunes. 
In  this  attempt  he  however  failed ;  for  the  duke  was  no 
longer  young,  and  his  imprisonment  had  augmented  his 
infirmities.  Finding  that  he  had  no  prospect  of  success 
with  M.  de  Longueville,  the  prince  accordingly  hastened 
to  Essonnes,  where  he  was  joined  by  the  Dukes  de  la 
Rochefoucauld  and  Nemours :  halted  for  a  day  to  await  a 
letter  from  Monsieur  which  never  arrived ;  and  then 
pushed  on  to  Bourges;*  where  he  was  overtaken  by  a 
delegate  from  the  parliament,  who  came  with  a  proposal 
that  he  should  remain  quietly  in  his  government  of 
Guienne  until  the  assembly  of  the  states-general.  Tran- 
quillity was  not,  however,  the  project  of  the  prince,  and 
he  consequently  rejected  the  proposition  with  contempt ; 
moved  on  to  Montrond,  where  he  left  the  Prince  de  Conti 
and  the  Duke  de  Nemours  in  command  of  the  town ;  and 
attended  only  by  his  councilor,  M.  de  Lenet,  continued 
his  route  to  Bordeaux.  He  was  received  with  enthu- 
siasm, and  the  city  instantly  became  the  nucleus  of  rebel- 
lion. The  princess,  and  her  son  the  Duke  d'Enghien, 
immediately  joined  him  ;  and  they  were  quickly  followed 
by  Madame  de  Longueville,  who  probably  anticipated  a 
second  civic  throne. 

The  Count  Foucaut  du  Doignon,  governor  of  Brouage, 
declared  in  his  favor,  which  was  the  more  important  as 

*  A  town  of  Central  France,  in  the  Department  of  the  Cher.  It  was 
in  old  times  the  capital  of  Aquitaine,  and  afterward  that  of  Berry ;  and 
was  moreover  the  birthplace  of  Louis  XI.  and  of  Jacques  Cceur.  The 
distance  from  Paris  to  Bourges  is  fifty-seven  leagues.  The  cathedral 
and  the  town-hall  arc  both  very  fin';  buildings. 


388  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

he  held  the  whole  line  of  coast  from  Rochelle  to  Royau. 
The  veteran  Marshal  de  la  Force  and  his  friends  in 
Guienne,  offered  him  their  services  ;  the  Duke  de  Riche- 
lieu joined  him  with  the  levies  that  he  had  made  in  Sain- 
tonge  and  the  neighborhood  of  Annis :  the  Prince  of 
Tarento,  who  held  Taillebourg  on  the  Charente,  for- 
warded his  pledge  of  allegiance ;  and  M.  de  Conde  finally 
awaited  only  the  arrival  of  the  Count  de  Marchain,  who 
had  promised  to  abandon  his  vice-royalty,  and  to  join 
him  with  such  of  the  regiments  as  he  should  be  able  to 
attach  to  his  cause ;  while  Lenet  had  already  departed 
for  Madrid  to  negotiate  with  the  court  of  Spain ;  a  task 
of  which  he  acquitted  himself  so  satisfactorily,  that  he 
concluded  not  only  a  treaty  with  the  most  Catholic  king, 
but  also  with  the  archduke,  who  commanded  in  the  Low 
Countries,  and  who  had  just  taken  Bergua.  Other  proposi- 
tions were  made  and  accepted,  which  ultimately  cost  France 
both  Dunkirk  and  Gravelines ;  and,  moreover,  compelled 
the  court  to  maintain  a  body  of  troops  on  the  frontier  at  a 
time  when  they  were  very  essential  in  Guienne. 

Nevertheless,  the  progress  of  the  prince  was  not  such 
as  from  his  personal  bravery,  his  past  services,  and  the 
professions  of  his  friends,  he  had  been  encouraged  to 
anticipate.  His  adherents  were  lukewarm ;  and  even 
the  old  Marshal  de  la  Force  did  not  act  in  a  manner 
consistent  with  his  antecedents.  But  we  must  not  antici- 
pate events. 

The  cardinal,  on  his  side,  had  not  been  idle ;  and  as  he 
well  knew  that  one  common  feeling  animated  all  ranks  and 
all  parties  in  France,  whatever  might  be  their  other  dis- 
crepancies of  opinion,  and  that  this  one  was  nothing  less  than 
an  inveterate  hatred  of  himself;  he  employed  his  exile  in 
raising  a  body  of  troops  from  the  neighborhood  of  Liege 
and  on  the  borders  of  the  Rhine,  in  order  to  be  ready  to 
return  into  France  despite  all  the  decrees  then  or  there- 
after to  be  promulgated  against  him. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  389 

A  few  days  after  he  attained  his  majority,  the  king  had 
sent  for  the  coadjutor,  and  publicly  delivered  to  him  the 
authentic  act  by  which  the  nation  pointed  him  out  as  the 
chosen  candidate  for  the  cardinalate ;  but  as  M.  de  Retz 
was  not  apt  to  place  the  strongest  reliance  upon  these  royal 
recommendations,  he  personally  dispatched  a  courier  to 
Rome,  to  solicit  the  hat  which  had  so  long  been  the  object 
of  his  ambition. 

The  court  were  soon  apprised  of  the  arrival  of  the  prince 
at  Bordeaux,  and  of  the  reception  which  he  had  met  with, 
both  from  the  nobility  and  the  parliament ;  when  a  resolu- 
tion was  made  that  the  king  should  undertake  against  the 
husband  a  similar  expedition  to  that  which,  a  few  months  pre- 
viously, had  been  organized  against  the  wife.  It  was,  more- 
over, resolved  that  the  sovereign  should  march  upon  the 
capital  of  Guienne  by  the  same  road  which  M.  de  Conde 
had  followed,  in  order  to  neutralize  the  impression  which 
he  had  produced  ;  and  the  king  forthwith  left  Fontaine- 
bleau,  where  he  had  taken  up  his  residence,  and  proceeded 
to  Berry.  Mademoiselle  was  not  commanded  to  accom- 
pany the  court,  for  her  father  had  recently  had  a  new  mis- 
understanding with  the  queen,  who,  when  the  princess 
attended  her  reception  on  the  evening  before  the  departure, 
expressed  her  regret  that,  in  her  then  position  of  affairs,  it 
was  impossible  for  Her  Majesty  to  claim  her  company. 

Nothing  could  be  more  promising  than  the  commence- 
ment of  this  journey.  On  arriving  before  Bourges,  the 
fortress  scarcely  made  a  show  of  resistance ;  while  Mon- 
trond  opened  its  gates,  after  having  afforded  time  to  M.  de 
Longueville  (who  had  repaired  thither  after  the  departure 
of  the  princess  for  Bordeaux),  the  Prince  de  Conti,  M.  de 
Nemours,  and  several  other  persons  of  rank  who  were 
assembled  within  the  walls,  to  secure  their  escape. 

When  the  court  had  possessed  themselves  of  Bourges, 
the  fortress  was  immediately  destroyed ;  and  after  a  so- 
journ of  seventeen  days  in  the  town,  they  proceeded  to 


390  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

Poitiers;  while  the  army,  under  the  command  of  Count 
d'Harcourt,  and  composed  of  the  best  troops  that  the  king 
possessed,  was  opposed  to  a  handful  of  raw  militia,  headed 
by  the  prince  in  person.  They  had  several  engagements, 
and  took  and  retook  the  bridges  over  the  Charente  ;  the 
military  genius  of  M.  de  Conde  enabling  him  to  sustain 
himself  even  against  a  regulai'ly  disciplined  force,  which, 
had  it  contended  with  a  less  experienced  leader,  must  have 
crushed  so  unequal  and  half-trained  a  body  of  men  in  the 
first  struggle ;  and  it  was  during  these  opening  hostilities  the 
news  arrived  that  Mazarin  had  reentered  France  with  an 
army  of  six  thousand  men. 

He  had  progressed  cautiously ;  commencing  by  Huy, 
thence  advancing  to  Dinant,  then  to  Bouillon,  then  to  Se- 
dan, where  he  had  been  well  received  upon  displaying  a 
passport  from  the  queen ;  and  thence,  followed  by  his 
troops,  all  wearing  the  green  scarf  which  was  the  badge 
of  his  house,  he  had  passed  the  Meuse,  reached  Rethel, 
and  was  advancing  through  Champagne,  escorted  by  two 
French  marshals,  the  Marquis  d'Hocquincourt,  and  the 
Marshal  de  la  Ferte-Senectere. 

Paris  was  shaken  to  its  center ;  but  the  emotion  was  not 
one  of  fear.  All  was  forgotten  save  vengeance  ;  the  par- 
liament hastily  assembled  :  and  although  a  letter  from  the 
king  was  read,  in  which  he  desired  them  not  to  encourage 
any  anxiety  with  regard  to  the  movements  of  His  Emi- 
nence, whose  intentions  were  well  known  to  the  queen, 
they  nevertheless  hastened  to  proceed  against  him  as  a 
rebel.  It  was  declared  that  the  cardinal  and  his  adherents 
had  alike  infringed  the  prohibitions  contained  in  the 
declaration  of  the  sovereign,  and  were,  in  consequence, 
from  that  moment  to  be  considered  as  disturbers  of  the 
public  peace,  and,  as  such,  to  be  pursued  by  the  corpora- 
tions ;  while  it  was,  moreover,  ordained  that  the  library 
and  movable  property  of  the  cardinal  were  to  be  sold, 
from  the  proceeds  of  which  sale  the  sum  of  one  hundred 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  39 1 

and  fifty  thousand  livres  should  be  set  apart  as  the  reward 
of  whomsoever  should  deliver  him  up,  dead  or  alive.  The 
coadjutor  attempted,  without  success,  to  render  the  decree 
less  severe ;  but  as  he  ran  considerable  risk  of  losing  his 
popularity  by  such  an  endeavor,  all  that  he  could  do  was 
to  retire  from  the  assembly,  asserting  that,  iu  his  ecclesias- 
tical character,  he  could  not  assist  at  a  deliberation  in 
which  a  question  of  life  and  death  had  been  mooted. 

Some  days  previously  a  similar  declaration  had  been 
made  against  the  prince,  the  Prince  de  Conti,  Madame  de 
Longueville,  and  the  Dukes  de  Nemours  and  de  la  Roche- 
foucauld ;  but  this  was  soon  forgotten  iu  the  excitement 
created  by  the  outlawry  of  the  cardinal.  Each  of  the 
other  culprits  had  some  personal  regard,  or  some  individual 
interest  to  link  them  with  the  community ;  but  Mazarin 
was  a  common  enemy,  for  whom  M.  de  Retz  alone  had 
ventured  to  raise  his  voice  ;  and  his  magnificent  library 
was  mercilessly  submitted  to  public  auction,  sold  and  dis- 
persed, despite  the  offer  of  a  bibliopolist  of  the  period,  who 
volunteered  to  purchase  it,  as  it  stood,  for  forty-five  thou- 
sand livres. 

Fate  appeared  to  favor  Mademoiselle  amid  all  these 
embarrassing  events.  While  M.  de  Gaucour  was  busied 
in  endeavoring  to  induce  Monsieur  to  declare  himself 
openly  for  the  prince,  the  King  of  England  arrived  in 
France,  on  his  way  to  Scotland  ;  and  his  mother  hastened 
to  Beauvais  to  meet  him.  He  had  just  fought  the  battle 
of  Worcester  ;  and,  for  some  time  previously,  she  had 
been  in  a  state  of  wretched  anxiety,  not  having  received 
any  assurance  of  his  safety.  Despite  the  fact  that  he  had, 
in  order  to  effect  his  escape,  cut  his  hair  close,  and  as- 
sumed a  dress  which  was  not  consistent  either  with  his 
rank  or  the  fashion  of  the  time,  Mademoiselle  was  de- 
lighted to  find  him  greatly  improved  in  appearance,  as 
well  as  in  his  knowledge  of  the  French  language.  He 
gave  her  a  detail  of  all  his  sufferings  ;   and  what  she  found 


392  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

of  still  greater  interest,  he  expatiated  to  her.  while  travers- 
ing the  gallery  which  connected  the  Louvre  with  the 
Tuileries,  as  he  reconducted  her  to  her  apartments,  upon 
the  miserable  existence  which  he  had  led  in  Scotland, 
where  there  was  not  a  woman  of  quality ;  and  the  people 
were  so  uncivilized,  as  to  consider  it  a  sin  to  listen  to 
music;  adding,  that  he  had  felt  less  regret  at  the  loss  of 
the  battle,  from  the  hope  which  he  entertained  of  returning 
to  France,  and  to  persons  who  were  so  dear  to  him.  In 
short,  the  unthroned  king  had  become  at  once  a  lover,  and 
affected  to  hold  lightly  his  reverses  at  home,  in  order  to 
play  the  courtier  to  the  great  heiress  of  the  Tuileries. 

As  Mademoiselle  was  never  ungrateful  for  such  demon- 
strations, and  was  glad  of  any  incident  which  tended  to 
relieve  the  monotony  of  her  existence,  she  met  his  ad- 
vances in  the  most  amiable  spirit ;  putting  her  violin-band 
into  requisition,  and  amusing  the  fugitive  monarch  with 
impromptu  balls,  in  which  he  acquitted  himself  with  as 
much  grace,  in  a  courante  or  a  has  de  basque,  as  though  his 
kingdom  were  not  at  stake,  and  his  very  existence  a  mat- 
ter of  marvel.  But,  above  all,  the  princess  was  deeply 
touched  by  the  fact  that  it  was  only  in  her  society  that 
Charles  thus  threw  off  his  natural  reserve  and  taciturnitv, 
and  assumed  the  manner  of  a  man  sincerely  enamored  ; 
keeping  his  eyes  constantly  fixed  upon  her,  and  conversing 
with  her,  in  such  a  manner,  as  to  convince  her  that  "  love 
was  rather  a  native  of  France  than  the  product  of  any 
other  nation  ;  and,  that  while  he  spoke  her  language,  he 
forgot  his  own,  of  which  he  lost  the  habit  only  with  her- 
self."* 

Nevertheless,  the  idea  of  becoming  Queen  of  France 
had  so  thoroughly  taken  possession  of  the  mind  of  Made- 
moiselle, that  she  merely  treated  the  advances  of  Charles 
as  an  agreeable  interlude,  and  by  no  means  desired  to 
commit  herself.  The  Princess-Palatine,  whose  husband 
*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  393 

was  the  cousin-german  of  the  English  king,  used  all  her 
eloquence  upon  the  subject ;  and  she  was  succeeded  by 
Madame  de  Choisy,  who  remarked  that  the  princess  ought 
not  to  be  seen  so  constantly  in  the  society  of  the  King  of 
England,  as  the  circumstance  produced  a  bad  effect  at 
court ;  to  which  the  Princess-Palatine  replied,  that  nothing 
could  be  more  absurd  than  such  a  restriction ;  and  that 
Mademoiselle  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  live  on  in  her 
usual  manner.  Madame  de  Chatillon,  who  was  then  in 
Paris,  but  who  had  always  been  estranged  from  the  prin- 
cess, in  consequence  of  the  great  attachment  which  she  had 
felt  for  the  late  Princess-Dowager  de  Conde,  sent  to  re- 
quest that  she  might  be  permitted  to  pay  her  respects  to 
Her  Royal  Highness  ;  while  the  Queen  of  England,  on  one 
occasion,  renewed  the  subject  of  her  son's  marriage,  and 
observed  to  Mademoiselle  that  she  wished  him  to  owe 
her  hand  to  her  own  generosity,  and  not  to  the  authority 
of  Monsieicr;  to  which  assurance  the  princess  answered, 
that  she  was  so  happy  in  her  present  position,  she  never 
thought  of  marriage  ;  although  she  received  this  propo- 
sition with  all  the  respect  to  which  it  was  entitled ;  and 
requested  that  time  might  be  allowed  her  to  reflect.  The 
queen  said  she  would  wait  a  week  for  her  decision  ;  only 
begging  her  to  remember  that  she  would  remain  the  sole 
mistress  of  her  property,  even  after  her  marriage. 

Charles  skillfully  seconded  the  advances  of  his  mother  ; 
and  the  unfortunate  princess,  who,  with  the  most  ardent 
and  persevering  desire  to  obtain  a  husband,  always  con- 
trived to  be  occupied  by  one  alliance,  when  she  had  an- 
other within  her  grasp  ;  finding  that  she  was  probably  fore- 
going the  substance  to  clutch  the  shadow,  and  amusing 
herself  with  a  head  which  had  not  yet  fitted  on  the  crown 
that  was  its  birthright,  when  she  might  be,  by  these  means, 
lessening  her  chance  of  sharing  a  diadem  already  secured; 
considered  it  necessary  to  modify  her  extreme  courtesy  to 
the  fugitive  monarch;  and,  consequently,  when  urged  anew 

R* 


31)  i  LOUIS     XI  V.     A  N  D 

by  the  English  queen  to  pledge  her  hand  to  Charles,  in  the 
event  of  her  marriage  with  Louis  not  taking  place,  she 
affected  to  consider  the  latter  a  mere  chimera,  and  con- 
sented that  Henrietta  should  confer  with  Monsieur.  The 
queen  thus  authorized,  at  once  proceeded  to  the  Luxem- 
bourg, and  was  shortly  afterward  followed  by  Mademoi- 
selle, who  was  anxious,  although  by  no  means  alarmed 
at  the  anticipation  of  her  father's  reply  ;  for  she  was  too 
well  aware  of  his  weak  and  wavering  nature  to  apprehend, 
for  a  moment,  that  he  would  venture  upon  a  definitive 
answer. 

She  had  argued  justly  ;  His  Royal  Highness  had  con- 
tented himself  by  declaring  to  the  English  queen  that  he 
could  not  move  in  such  a  matter  without  the  order  of  the 
sovereign;  a  reply  which  delighted  Mademoiselle,  who 
thus  saw  the  ungracious  responsibility  of  a  refusal  re- 
moved from  herself  individually ;  and  who  had  no  inclina- 
tion to  share  the  misfortunes  of  a  dethroned  monarch,  or 
to  reign  over  a  country  in  the  convulsed  and  unhappy 
state  in  which  England  still  remained. 

On  her  return  home  she  found  Charles  II.  awaiting  her, 
who  believed  that  the  affair  was  already  concluded,  as  he 
did  not  anticipate  any  obstacle  from  the  court.  As  she 
entered  he  expressed  his  delight  at  the  favorable  answer 
which  had  been  given  to  the  queen  his  mother;  and 
added  that  he  should  now  hope  to  be  enabled,  ere  long, 
to  recover  his  throne,  in  order  to  share  his  prosperity  with 
Mademoiselle,  which  would  render  it  doubly  valuable. 
To  this  gallantry  the  princess  coolly  replied  by  the  re- 
mark, that  if  he  did  not  return  to  England  to  support  his 
own  cause,  it  was  highly  improbable  that  he  would  ever 
attain  to  the  dignity  which  was  his  due;  but,  nevertheless, 
the  weak  and  trifling  temperament  of  Charles  was  suf- 
ficiently callous  to  the  rebuke  to  induce  him  to  exclaim, 
"  How !  madam  ;  after  having  married  me,  should  you 
wish   me  to  take   my   leave  V     The   reply  was  fully  as 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  395 

characteristic  as  the  inquiry.  "  Yes,  sire,"  answered  the 
princess,  proudly,  "should  such  an  event  occur,  I  shall 
be  compelled  to  make  your  interests  my  own ;  and  I 
should  be  grieved  to  see  you  dancing  triplets  here,  and 
amusing  yourself,  when  you  ought  to  be  upon  the  spot 
where  you  might  either  get  your  head  broken,  or  place  a 
crown  upon  it."* 

After  this  conversation,  which  did  not  tend  to  the  satis- 
faction of  either  party,  Mademoiselle  desired  Lord 
Germain  to  request  the  King  of  England  not  to  visit  her 
so  constantly,  as  his  marked  attention  excited  comments 
which  were  calculated  to  injure  her  in  the  world  ;  and, 
despite  his  solicitations,  she  refused  to  withdraw  her 
entreaty;  at  which  Charles  took  such  serious  offense 
that  he  remained  for  tlrree  weeks  without  seeing  her ; 
but,  naturally  inclined  to  gayety,  he  could  ill  brook  the 
privation  entailed  upon  him  by  this  exile  from  a  circle 
so  gay  as  that  of  the  princess ;  who,  during  his  absence, 
rather  increased  than  diminished  the  number  of  her  fetes; 
a  circumstance  which  so  excited  the  anger  of  Lord 
Germain,  that  he  was  incautious  enough  to  remark,  in 
public,  that  when  she  had  once  become  the  wife  of 
Charles,  they  would  diminish  her  outlay,  and  dispose  of 
her  estates;  a  liberty  which  Mademoiselle  resented  so 
deeply,  that  she  immediately  resolved  never  to  contract 
an  alliance  which  appeared  to  be  so  securely  anticipated 
by  the  interested  parties. 

Meanwhile,  the  cardinal  continued  his  journey  without 
any  obstacle  ;  and  ultimately,  at  the  end  of  January,  one 
month  after  he  again  entered  France,  he  arrived  at 
Poitiers,  in  the  carriage  of  the  king,  who  had  gone  him- 
self to  meet  him ;  and  was  received  by  the  whole  court 
with  the  greatest  demonstrations  of  delight. 

The  Duke  de  Nemours  about  the  same  time  arrived  in 
Paris,  on  his  way  from  Guienne  to  Flanders,  where  he  was 
*  Memoires  cle  Mademoisello  do  Montpensior. 


396  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

about  to  place  himself  at  the  head  of  his  troops,  and  to 
receive  those  which  had  been  sent  to  him  by  the  King 
of  Spain,  and  which  were  then  at  Maries,  whence  they 
could,  without  difficulty,  pass  into  Flanders.  He  remained 
some  days  in  the  capital;  and  as  Monsieur  was  at  that 
period  in  the  full  flush  of  his  hatred  toward  Mazarin,  the 
rebel  duke  was  a  constant  visitor  at  the  Luxembourg, 
where  his  personal  beauty  and  engaging  manners  ren- 
dered him  the  idol  of  the  circle. 

"  This  duke,"  says  Bussy-Rabutin,  "  had  very  light 
hair,  a  well-shaped  nose,  and  a  small  and  finely-colored 
mouth.  He  had  also  the  neatest  figure  in  the  world ;  and 
displayed  in  his  slightest  movements  a  grace  which  could 
not  be  sufficiently  admired,  combined  with  a  disposition  at 
once  joyous  and  playful."* 

It  was  at  the  first  of  these  assemblies  at  the  Luxem- 
bourg after  the  arrival  of  M.  de  Nemours,  that  "  Madame 
de  Chatillon  arrived,"  writes  Mademoiselle  ;  "  dressed 
most  magnificently,  and  as  beautiful  as  an  angel ;  which 
was  the  more  remarked,  as  during  the  whole  winter  she 
had  not  appeared  in  full  dress."*  Madame  de  Chatillon 
was  the  daughter  of  the  Lord  de  Bouteville,  who  lost  his 
head  for  having  fought  a  duel  in  opposition  to  the  edicts 
of  Louis  XIII.  We  supply  her  portrait  from  the  same 
gallery  which  afforded  that  of  the  Duke  de  Nemours. 
"  Madame  de  Chatillon  had  bright  black  eyes,  a  low  fore- 
head, a  handsome  nose,  a  small,  fresh,  and  arched  mouth  ; 
the  complexion  which  it  pleased  her  to  adopt,  generally  it 
was  white  and  red ;  and  a  charming  laugh  which  went  to 
the  hearts  of  her  hearers.  Her  hair  was  jet  black,  her 
figure  tall,  her  bearing  graceful,  her  hands  thin,  dry,  and 
dark ;  her  arms  of  the  same  color  and  long ;  she  was 
mild,  courteous,  and  flattering  in  manner;  faithless,  in- 
terested, and  incapable  of  friendship  in  disposition;  never- 

*  Histoire  Amoureuse  des  Gaules. 

t  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  397 

theless,  however  you  might  be  forewarned  of  her  bad 
qualities,  when  she  resolved  to  please  it  was  not  possible 
to  defend  yourself:  she  had  some  habits  which  were 
charming,  and  others  which  drew  down  upon  her  the 
contempt  of  all  the  world.  For  money  or  ambition  she 
would  have  dishonored  herself,  and  sacrificed  father, 
mother,  and  lover."" 

We  have  devoted  a  certain  space  to  the  mention  of  this 
lady,  as  we  shall  have  occasion  to  recur  to  her  ere  long. 
She  had  married  M.  de  Chatilion,  with  the  assistance  of 
the  Prince  de  Conde,  while  he  was  yet  a  boy,  and  despite 
the  decrees  of  the  senate ;  when  the  prince,  after  escort- 
ing them  to  Stenai,  which  he  had  lent  to  them  as  a  resi- 
dence, made  the  bridegroom  a  loan  of  twenty  thousand 
livres.  After  the  lapse  of  a  few  days,  however,  M.  de 
Chatilion  left  his  wife,  and  joined  the  army  (1643) ;  while 
she  withdrew  to  a  convent  of  nuns  two  leagues  from  Paris, 
where  several  of  her  friends,  aware  that  she  was  penniless, 
advanced  her  loans  which,  in  her  after  prosperity,  she 
omitted  to  return.  Her  moral  conduct  was  still  more 
questionable  than  her  gratitude. 

Exiled  from  the  court  after  the  arrest  of  the  princes,  she 
retired  to  her  estate  of  Chatilion,  where  she  was  followed 
by  the  dowager  Madame  de  Conde,  who  ultimately  died 
beneath  her  roof;  bequeathing  to  her,  thi'ough  the  agency 
of  a  priest,  whom  the  fascinations  of  the  duchess  had 
enthralled,  the  value  of  a  hundred  thousand  crowns  in 
precious  stones,  and  a  life  tenure  of  the  lordship  of 
Marlou,  which  was  computed  at  twenty  thousand  annual 
livres.  According  to  her  usual  custom,  she  had  no 
sooner  secured  the  bequest  than  she  dismissed  the  unfor- 
tunate priest  to  whom  she  was  indebted  for  its  possession  ; 
while  the  prince,  who  had  become  enamored  of  her  in 
his  turn,  only  succeeded  in  his  pursuit  by  changing  the 
life  tenure  of  Marlou  into  an  actual  gift. 

*  Hietoire  Amoureuse  tics  Gaules. 


398  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

While  these  festivities  were  taking  place  at  the  Luxem- 
bourg and  the  beautiful  widow  was  putting  forth  all  her 
fascinations  in  order  to  retain  the  young  duke  in  her 
chains,  the  intelligence  of  Mazarin's  triumphant  return 
and  reception  at  court  created  great  commotion  in  the 
capital ;  but  the  individual  who  most  keenly  felt  the  blow 
was  the  Duke  d'Orleans ;  who,  on  this  occasion,  at  least, 
appeared  resolved  not  to  forego  the  vow  of  vengeance 
which  he  had  taken  against  the  cardinal.  Mademoiselle 
triumphed  in  his  unhoped-for  resistance  ;  for,  although  she 
had  been  careful  to  maintain  her  own  connection  with  the 
court,  by  sustaining  a  correspondence  with  the  queen,  and 
even  occasionally  writing  to  her  uncle,  the  Duke  de  Guise, 
and  expressing  great  interest  in  the  success  of  the  royal 
cause  (because,  as  she  admits,  with  her  usual  somewhat 
tardy  frankness,  she  believed  that  her  letters  would  be 
opened  by  the  way,  as  they  had  been  during  the  journey 
to  Bordeaux,  and  that  thus  the  court  would  give  her 
credit  for  her  good  intentions) ;  *  she  had,  nevertheless, 
not  lost  sight  of  her  darling  project ;  and  became  daily 
more  convinced  that  her  marriage  with  Louis  XIV.  could 
only  be  accomplished  through  fear. 

M.  de  Conde  profited  by  the  intelligence  which  soon 
reached  him  of  the  anger  of  Monsieur,  to  dispatch  to  him 
the  Count  de  Fiesque,  with  the  proposition  of  a  treaty,  by 
which  the  Duke  d'Orleans  was  to  pledge  himself  to  unite 
the  troops  over  whom  he  had  authority,  to  those  which 
M.  de  Nemours  was  about  to  bring  from  Flanders ;  and 
from  that  moment  to  assist,  even  ostensibly,  should  it  be- 
come requisite,  the  interests  of  the  prince  against  those 
of  the  cardinal.  Madame  entreated  and  expostulated  in 
vain ;  his  hatred  to  Mazarin  was  more  powerful  than  her 
influence,  and  Monsieur  signed  the  treaty. 

He    had    no    sooner    succeeded   with    the    father,    than 
M.  de   Fiesque  asked  and   obtained   an   audience   of  the 
*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  399 

daughter,  whom  he  entertained  with  lengthy  assurances 
of  the  great  regard  in  which  she  was  held  by  the  prince, 
who  was,  as  he  declared,  anxious  that  she  should  feel 
their  interests  to  be  in  common,  and  understand  how 
much  he  desired  to  see  her  Queen  of  France  ;  which 
would  be  an  immense  advantage  to  himself,  should  she 
be  kind  enough  to  place  more  confidence  in  him  than 
she  had  hitherto  done.  This  assurance  having  been 
graciously  received  and  answered,  he  next  delivered  to 
her  a  letter  from  M.  de  Conde,  which  contained  a  ratifi- 
cation of  the  words  of  his  envoy,  but  couched  in  a  style 
of  devoted  attachment  to  which  few  persons  were  more 
susceptible  than  Mademoiselle. 

An  opportunity  soon  occurred  which  enabled  Monsieur 
and  his  daughter  to  prove  their  good  faith  in  this  new 
engagement ;  for  after  the  unimportant  encounters  to 
which  we  have  already  made  allusion  between  the  Count 
d'Harcourt  and  the  lieutenants  of  the  prince,  as  well  as 
with  the  prince  himself,  the  king  had  in  person  besieged 
Poitiers,  which  was  defended  by  M.  de  Rohan ;  but  at  the 
moment  when  succor  arrived  M.  de  Rohan  had  surren- 
dered. This  was  consequently  a  valid  advantage  to  the 
royal  cause,  especially  at  a  time  when  the  court  ascer- 
tained the  constantly-increasing  animosity  of  the  capital 
toward  the  cardinal,  and  the  treaty  into  which  Monsieur 
had  entered  with  the  prince.  Both  these  circumstances 
created  uneasiness ;  but  the  greatest  evil  existed  in  the 
fact  that  Paris  was  abandoned  to  the  united  influence 
of  the  parliament  and  the  Duke  d 'Orleans;  and,  desperate 
as  was  the  measure,  it  was  soon  decided  that  the  royal 
family  must  return  to  the  capital  without  delay.  It  is 
probable  that  this  courageous  resolution  would  not,  how- 
ever, have  been  formed,  had  not  the  Marshal  Turenne,  at 
that  precise  moment,  finding  himself  unable  to  come  to  a 
satisfactory  understanding  with  M.  de  Conde,  offered  his 
own  services  and  those  of  his  troops  to  the  cardinal ;  an 


400  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

example  which  was  followed  by  the  Duke  de  Bouillon. 
On  their  arrival  in  Paris,  the  princes  lived  in  great 
seclusion,  and  saw  scarcely  any  one  save  their  particular 
friends,  among  whom  was  the  coadjutor;  who,  well  aware 
of  the  importance  of  their  partisanship,  made  the  most 
strenuous  endeavors  to  induce  Monsieur  to  comprehend 
it ;  and  to  compel  the  two  brothers  to  enter  into  his 
interests.  The  aversion  of  the  Duke  d'Orleans  toward 
the  elder  (M.  de  Bouillon),  for  which  he  could  give  no 
rational  reason,  prevented  him,  however,  from  acting  as 
he  should  have  done  on  such  an  occasion;  while  the  con- 
tempt which  the  younger  did  not  conceal  for  himself,  and 
of  which  he  was  by  no  means  embarrassed  to  explain  the 
motive,  rendered  the  negotiation  one  of  great  difficulty. 
As  has  already  been  shown,  it  was  unsuccessful ;  while 
their  own  endeavor  to  attach  M.  de  Retz  to  the  court 
party  proved  equally  abortive. 

The  king  commenced  his  march ;  but  when  he  reached 
Blois,  where  he  remained  for  a  couple  of  days,  and  was 
concentrating  his  troops  at  Beaugency,  he  learned  the  ap- 
proach of  the  Duke  de  Nemours  at  the  head  of  a  Spanish 
force;  and  that  he  was  about  to  operate  a  junction  with 
the  Duke  de  Beaufort,  in  order  to  march  against  the  royal 
army.  At  such  a  crisis  it  became  imperative  to  ascertain 
the  temper  of  Orleans ;  for  although  Louis  XIV.  was 
King  of  France,  it  was  no  less  certain  that  Monsiem-  was 
the  suzerain  of  Orleans  ;  while  it  was  also  publicly  known 
that  His  Royal  Highness  had  signed  a  treaty  with  the 
the  princes.  A  demand  was  in  consequence  made  to  the 
authorities  of  the  city,  that  they  should  declare  for  which 
party  they  intended  to  pronounce ;  when,  without  hesita- 
tion, they  decided  for  the  Duke  d'Orleans ;  while  the 
court  had  a  more  formidable  enemy  than  ever  in  the 
coadjutor,  who  at  this  period  obtained  his  seat  in  the 
conclave. 

The  Marquis  de  Sourdis,  who  was  governor  of  both  the 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  401 

province  and  the  city,  was  very  unpopular,  and  consequent- 
ly anxious  that  Monsieur  should  arrive  and  assume  the  com- 
mand in  his  own  person  ;  and  to  expedite  this  measure  the 
Count  de  Fiesque  retm-ned  in  great  haste  to  Paris,  to  ex. 
plain  to  His  Royal  Highness  how  essential  his  presence 
had  become  at  Orleans,  which  was  an  important  post  during 
a  period  of  civil  war.  A  free  communication  with  Guienne 
was  so  imperatively  necessary  to  the  party  and  interests  of 
the  prince,  that  he  had  been  careful  to  direct  that  every 
exertion  should  be  made  to  secure  the  city  from  loss  01 
damage — a  piece  of  intelligence  which  in  all  probability 
served  even  better  than  the  arguments  of  his  friends  to 
wring  a  promise  from  Monsieur  that  he  would  set  out  for 
Orleans  on  the  evening  of  Palm  Sunday,  to  request  the 
dukes  of  Beaufort  and  Nemours  to  furnish  an  escort  to  ac- 
company him  from  Etampes  to  the  end  of  his  journey. 

Mademoiselle,  who  had  arranged  to  retire  during  the 
Holy  Week  to  the  Carmelite  convent  at  St.  Denis,  and 
who  went  to  take  leave  of  her  father  in  consequence,  de- 
ferred her  intention  until  the  following  day,  in  consequence 
of  the  arrival  of  the  Duke  de  Beaufort,  who  had  followed 
M.  de  Fiesque,  in  order  to  second  him  in  his  endeavor  to 
decide  Monsieur  upon  an  immediate  appearance  in  Orleans; 
and  who,  during  a  visit  which  he  made  to  the  princess,  re- 
marked, in  the  spirit  of  a  prophet,  that  if  His  Royal  High- 
ness should  eventually  decline  the  journey,  she  must  re- 
place him. 

No  proposal  could  have  been  more  congenial  to  her  tern 
perament;  and  the  ambition  of  Mademoiselle  fired  at  the 
first  word.  She  immediately  went  to  the  Capuchin  con- 
vent in  the  Rue  St.  Honore,  where  Father  Georges,  a  de- 
clared Frondeur,  was  to  preach  before  Monsieur;  and,  at 
the  close  of  the  service,  informed  him  that  she  had  delayed 
her  own  journey  in  consequence  of  his  departure.  She 
then  followed  him  to  the  Luxembourg,  where  she  found 
him  in  one  of  those  irritable  humors  which  were  sure  to 


402  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

result  from  his  adopting  any  important  resolution.  He 
spared  neither  friends  nor  enemies,  declaring  that  he  was 
persecuted  on  all  sides;  and  that  if  he  listened  to  the  par- 
tisans of  M.  de  Conde,  and  left  Paris,  all  would  be  lost ; 
and,  finally,  he  exclaimed  angrily  that  he  would  not  go, 
murmuring  against  the  violence  which  was  exerted  to  turn 
him  from  his  own  quiet  and  retired  tastes  and  habits,  and 
envying  the  happiness  of  those  who  had  no  connection  with 
public  affairs. 

Mademoiselle  listened  with  more  annoyance  than  sur- 
prise to  all  these  puerile  complaints,  which  led  her  to  dread 
a  renewed  exile  from  the  court,  and  the  utter  destruction 
of  her  own  prospects,  as  their  result ;  and  wept  bitterly 
over  the  unconquerable  pusillanimity  of  her  father.  Her 
only  consolation  existed  in  the  belief  that  those  about  His 
Royal  Highness  would  induce  him,  in  the  event  of  his  ad- 
herence to  this  last  unworthy  resolution,  to  permit  that  she 
should  become  his  representative ;  and  she  was  not  de- 
ceived in  her  hopes  ;  for,  after  having  left  the  Luxembourg, 
and  returned  home  to  supper,  she  was  visited  by  the  Count 
de  Tavannes,  one  of  the  lieutenant-generals  of  the  prince, 
who  informed  her,  in  a  low  voice,  that  he  was  delighted  to 
be  able  to  assure  her  that  it  had  been  arranged  for  Her 
Royal  Highness  to  proceed  to  Orleans  in  the  name  of 
Monsieur;  bidding  her,  at  the  same  time,  to  be  silent  upon 
the  subject  until  the  news  should  be  officially  announced 
to  her  by  the  Count  de  Rohan. 

The  latter  shortly  afterward  appeared;  and  Mademoi- 
selle, with  a  beating  heart,  hastened  to  signify  her  obe- 
dience to  the  orders  of  Monsieur;  requesting  the  Count 
and  Countess  de  Fiesque,*  and  Madame  de  Frontenac  to 
accompany  her,  an  invitation  which  was  at  once  accepted. 
The  princess  could  not  have  selected  two  more  fascinating 

*  Gillona  d'Harcom-t,  widow  of  the  Marquis  de  Piennes,  who  re- 
married with  Charles  Lionel,  Count  de  Fiesque,  was  commonly  known 
in  the  world  as  "  the  Countess." 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  403 

companions  for  her  somewhat  chivalrous  expedition  than 
the  two  ladies  above  named.  We  have  already  shown  that 
the  latter  had  been  able  to  captivate  the  affections  of  a 
mere  stripling ;  while  of  the  former,  even  the  cynical  Bussy 
says,  with  enthusiasm,  "  The  Countess  de  Fiesque  was  an 
admirable  woman.  Her  eyes  were  brown  and  brilliant, 
her  nose  well  made,  her  mouth  agreeable  and  ruddy,  her 
complexion  fair  and  smooth,  and  the  shape  of  her  face 
long ;  she  was  the  only  person  in  the  world  who  was  ever 
rendered  more  beautiful  by  a  pointed  chin.  Her  hair  was 
light;  she  was  always  consistently  and  elegantly  attired; 
but  she  derived  more  grace  from  her  personal  deport- 
ment than  from  the  magnificence  of  her  apparel.  Her 
manner  was  cheerful  and  unaffected :  her  disposition  can 
not  be  described ;  for,  with  all  the  modesty  of  her  sex,  she 
accommodated  herself  to  the  mood  of  all  about  her.  By 
dint  of  reflection,  people  generally  think  more  justly  upon 
a  subject  in  the  end  than  they  did  at  the  commencement : 
it  was  just  the  contrary  with  Madame  de  Fiesque — her  re- 
flections injured  her  impulses."* 

This  social  arrangement  made>  Mademoiselle  next  gave 
the  necessary  orders  in  her  household  ;  and,  on  the  follow- 
ing day,  dined  at  the  Luxembourg,  where  she  found  Mon- 
sieur in  high  spirits  at  the  able  manner  in  which  he  had 
emancipated  himself  from  a  disagreeable  responsibility  by 
fastening  it  upon  her;  nor  was  she  by  any  means  inclined 
to  diminish  his  self-gratulation.  During  the  repast  he  in- 
formed Her  Royal  Highness  that  he  had  already  dispatched 
a  messenger  to  announce  her  early  arrival,  by  whom  he  had 
also  forwarded  an  order  to  the  authorities,  desiring  them  to 
show  the  same  obedience  to  her  wishes  as  they  would  have 
done  to  his  own — an  assurance  which  seated  Mademoiselle 
on  velvet,  for  she  was  fond  of  power,  and  did  not  readily 
brook  opposition.  When  she  took  her  leave,  Monsieur 
embraced  her  tenderly ;  and  then  said  that  the  Bishop  of 
*  Histoirc  Amonreuse  des  Gaules. 


404  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

Orleans  would  give  her  every  information  as  to  the  condi- 
tion of  the  city ;  and  that  he  wished  her  to  ask  advice  of 
the  Counts  de  Fiesque  and  de  Grammont,  who  had  been 
long  enough  upon  the  spot  to  know  what  had  best  be  done  ; 
but,  above  all,  to  prevent,  at  any  price,  the  passage  of  the 
army  across  the  Loire,  which  was  the  only  order  that  he 
should  himself  give  her. 

She  then  entered  her  carriage,  followed  by  Madame  de 
Frontenac,  and  the  Countess  de  Fiesque  and  her  daughter; 
while  Monsieur,  hugging  himself  in  his  recovered  insignifi- 
cance and  safety,  watched  her  departure  from  a  window, 
and  listened  very  complacently  to  the  blessings  which  were 
showered  upon  her  by  the  people  as  she  passed  along,  un- 
der the  escort  of  a  lieutenant  of  his  guards,  two  exempts, 
six  guardsmen,  and  six  Swiss.* 

As  the  party  did  not  quit  Paris  until  a  late  hour,  Made- 
moiselle halted  the  first  night  at  Chartres ;  and  just  as 
she  bad  resumed  her  journey  on  the  following  morning  she 
was  met  by  the  Duke  de  Beaufort,  who  thenceforward  al- 
ways rode  beside  her  carriage.  A  few  leagues  farther  on 
she  encountered  a  mounted  escort  of  five  men,  commanded 
by  M.  de  Valon,  the  adjutant-general  of  Monsieur.  The 
escort  was  composed  of  gens-d'armes  and  light  horse ;  the 
latter  moved  to  the  van,  and  the  former  surrounded  the 
carriage,  both  rear  and  flank ;  but  even  this  military  dem- 
onstration did  not  satisfy  the  ambition  of  the  princess, 
who,  anxious  to  prove  herself  worthy  of  the  dignity  of  her 
rank  as  chief  of  the  expedition,  no  sooner  reached  the 
plains  of  La  Beauce  than  she  alighted  from  her  carriage, 
mounted  a  horse,  and  placed  herself  at  the  head  of  the 
troops,  who  expressed  the  greatest  delight  on  seeing  her 
thus  promptly  assume  her  command,  which  she  commen- 
ced by  the  arrest  of  three  couriers,  one  of  whom  was  the 
bearer  of  a  letter  from  the  authorities  of  Orleans  to  Mon- 
sieur, announcing  that  the  king  had  sent  to  inform  them  that 
*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  405 

he  should  sleep  that  night  at  Clery,  and  then  proceed  direct 
to  their  city,  preceded  by  his  council. 

The  little  army  of  Mademoiselle  had  consequently  no 
time  to  lose  in  order  to  prevent  this  danger ;  and  they  con- 
tinued their  march  with  increased  celerity  until  they  arrived 
at  Toury,  where  they  found  M.  de  Nemours,  who  welcomed 
the  princess  most  warmly,  and  declared  that  thenceforward 
she  must  preside  over  the  war  councils — an  announcement 
which  only  excited  her  amusement ;  but  as  the  duke  still 
persisted,  alledging  that  she  should  accustom  herself  to  such 
topics,  as  nothing  could  be  done  without  her  authority,  the 
council  was  accordingly  assembled,  at  which  Mademoiselle 
insisted  upon  the  desire  of  her  father  that  the  enemy  should 
not  be  allowed  to  cross  the  Loire  :  and  measures  were  im- 
mediately taken  to  oppose  their  passage. 

The  next  morning  they  again  started,  shortly  after  day- 
break, and  at  Artenay  were  joined  by  the  Marquis  de 
Flamarens,  who  had  come  to  meet  the  princess,  having 
important  business  to  transact  with  her.  Mademoiselle 
alighted  at  an  inn ;  where  she  was  informed,  to  her  great 
mortification,  that  the  authorities  of  Orleans  had  refused  to 
give  her  ingress  to  the  city,  from  the  fact  that  her  own  ap- 
proach in  one  direction,  and  that  of  His  Majesty  in  another, 
placed  them  in  an  embarrassing  position;  and  that  they  in 
consequence  besought  her,  in  order  to  prevent  their  be- 
coming rebels  either  to  the  will  of  the  king  or  to  the 
orders  of  the  suzerain,  to  affect  indisposition  until  the  court 
had  passed  by,  promising  not  to  open  their  gates  until  such 
was  the  case,  after  which  they  would  receive  her  with  all 
the  honors  which  were  her  due.  But  Mademoiselle  was 
not  constituted  like  her  father :  she  remembered  that  she 
was  the  grandchild  of  Henry  IV.,  and  she  Was  resolved 
that  they  should  also  be  reminded  of  the  fact.  She  dec- 
lared, therefore,  that  she  entirely  disregarded  such  a  de- 
laration,  and  rejected  the  advice,  as  unworthy  alike  of  her 
rank,  her  mission,  and  the  blood  which  filled  her  veins  ;  and 


406  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

that  she  should  forthwith  march  upon  Orleans.  Nor  did 
she  lose  any  time  in  verifying  her  words,  for  she  ordered 
her  equipage  to  be  instantly  brought  to  the  door ;  and 
leaving  behind  her  the  escort,  which  would  have  impeded 
her  progress,  she  only  consented  to  be  accompanied  by  the 
guards  of  Monsieur,  on  condition  that  they  should  travel 
at  her  own  pace.  As  the  little  party  proceeded,  the 
most  discouraging  rumors  reached  them  at  every  stage  : 
some  said  that  the  authorities  were  resolved  not  to  permit 
the  princess  to  pass  the  gates  of  the  city,  and  others  that 
the  king  was  already  in  Orleans,  which  had  declared  in  his 
favor.  But  Mademoiselle  had  not  quitted  Paris  to  start 
at  shadows,  and  she  persisted  in  pursuing  her  journey  with 
a  sang-froid  and  composure  which  in  the  opposite  sex 
would  have  been  designated  as  heroism ;  and  which  her 
father,  who  had  been  striving  at  such  a  demonstration 
throughout  a  long  life,  died  without  emulating.  She  had 
sent  forward  to  Orleans  the  lieutenant  of  Monsieur's 
guards,  whom  she  met  on  his  return.  He  bore  a  second 
entreaty  from  the  authorities  that  the  princess  would  not 
continue  her  journey,  as  they  should  be  compelled  to  re- 
fuse her  entrance ;  and  he  had  traveled  rapidly  to  com- 
municate this  information,  leaving  the  parliament  assem- 
bled, in  consequence  of  the  fact  that  the  keeper  of  the 
seals,  and  the  king's  counselors,  were  already  at  the  gate 
opposite  to  that  by  which  Mademoiselle  was  approach- 
ing, and  had  demanded  admission. 

The  princess  saw  that  she  had  no  time  to  lose,  and  paid 
little  attention  to  the  other  particulars  of  the  message. 
She  therefore  proceeded  by  a  forced  march,  and  at  eleven 
o'clock  in  the  morning  reached  the  Banniere  gate,  which 
was  not  only  closed,  but  barricaded.  This  point  gained, 
she  sent  to  inform  the  municipal  magistrates  that  she  had 
arrived,  and  then  waited  patiently  for  the  space  of  three 
hours,  in  an  inn  outside  the  walls,  during  which  time  the 
governor  of  the  city,  who  was  totally  powerless,  sent  her 


THE     COURT     OF     FRAN  C  E.  407 

a  present  of  sweetmeats,  which  she  received  graciously,  but 
with  a  resolve  that  so  puerile  a  politeness  should  not  af- 
fect her  resolution.  Worn  out  at  length  by  a  delay  which 
accorded  ill  with  her  natural  energy,  she  decided  upon 
leaving  the  inn ;  and  despite  the  entreaties  of  those  about 
her,  she  directed  her  steps  toward  the  city  moat.  She  had 
scarcely  arrived  there,  when  the  citizens  and  the  mob  who 
were  collected  on  the  ramparts  recognized  her,  and  point- 
ing her  out  to  each  other,  raised  a  shout  of  "  Long  live 
the  king  !  Long  live  the  princess  !  No  Mazarin  !"  Made- 
moiselle had  no  sooner  witnessed  these  demonstrations 
than  she  advanced  to  the  extreme  edge  of  the  ditch  ;  and, 
raising  her  voice,  exclaimed,  "  Hasten  to  the  Town-Hall, 
good  people;  and,  if  you  wish  to  see  me  among  you,  open 
the  city  gates." 

This  address  produced  considerable  commotion,  but  the 
only  reply  was  a  repetition  of  the  same  cry ;  and  when 
she  had  ascertained  that  she  was  merely  answered  by 
words,  Mademoiselle  continued  her  way,  until  she  ar- 
rived at  a  gate  where  the  guard  sprung  to  their  arms,  and 
arranged  themselves  in  file  along  the  rampart.  Anxious  to 
profit  by  this  movement,  the  princess  shouted  to  the  com- 
manding officer  to  open  the  barrier,  but  he  replied  by  sig- 
nifying that  he  was  not  in  possession  of  the  keys.  Wear- 
ied by  the  inutility  of  her  entreaties,  the  princess  next  pro- 
ceeded to  threats,  for  she  could  not  condescend  to  entreat 
for  what  she  considered  to  be  her  right ;  and  her  suite, 
who  regarded  this  measure  as  dangerous,  expostulated  in 
vain — asking  her  what  she  could  anticipate  from  menacing 
people  upon  whose  good  feeling  toward  her  she  was  utter- 
ly dependent  for  success  ;  but  she  laughed  at  their  terrors, 
declaring  that  it  was  good  policy  to  ascertain  if  she  could 
not  do  more  by  threats  than  gentleness. 

Mademoiselle,  as  she  confessed  to  the  Countess  de 
Fiesque,  was  emboldened  in  this  attempt  by  a  declaration 
of  the  Marquis  de  Vilene,  who  was  esteemed  one  of  the 


408  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

most  accomplished  astrologers  of  the  time,  that  whatever 
she  undertook  between  mid-day  on  Wednesday  the  27th 
of  March,  and  the  following  Friday,  was  certain  to  succeed  ; 
and  that,  confiding  in  the  science  of  the  marquis,  whose  per- 
diction  was  then  in  her  pocket,  she  felt  confident  that  she 
should  either  force  the  gates  of  Orleans  or  escalade  its 
walls.  Terrified  as  they  were  by  this  display  of  resolu- 
tion, the  two  countesses  could  not  suppress  their  merri- 
ment at  the  menacing  attitude  assumed  by  their  female 
commander-in-chief;  who,  nothing  daunted  by  this  display 
of  their  incredulity,  calmly  pursued  her  way  along  the 
ramparts,  until  she  arrived  at  the  river-bank  ;  where  the 
boatmen,  who  at  Orleans  form  a  considerable  body,  ap- 
proached her,  and  offered  their  services,  which  she  imme- 
diately accepted,  haranguing  them  in  a  style  which  excited 
them  to  such  enthusiasm  that  she  saw  her  point  was  gained  ; 
and  accordingly  proposed  that  they  should  row  her  as  far 
as  the  Porte  de  la  Faux,  which  opened  upon  the  river :  they, 
however,  proposed  a  gate  upon  the  quay,  which  they  said 
would  be  more  easily  forced,  as  well  as  much  nearer;  and 
that,  should  she  desire  it,  they  would  instantly  go  to  work. 
Mademoiselle  bade  them  lose  no  time ;  showered  money 
among  them ;  and  in  order  to  superintend  the  progress  of 
their  attempt,  and  to  animate  them  by  her  presence,  ascend- 
ed a  hillock  whence  she  could  command  the  gate,  to  effect 
which  she  was  compelled  to  climb  upon  her  hands  and 
knees,  defying  alike  flints  and  brambles  ;  nor  could  the  ex- 
postulations of  those  about  her  induce  her  to  abandon  her 
position. 

Careless  as  she  was  of  her  personal  safety,  the  princess 
was,  nevertheless,  a  sufficiently  able  diplomatist  to  forbid 
all  her  own  people  from  assisting  in  the  violence  that  she 
had  authorized,  in  order,  as  she  confesses,  that  should  the 
enterprise  have  proved  unsuccessful,  she  might  deny  that 
it  was  undertaken  by  her  order ;  one  light-horseman  only, 
who  was  a  native  of  the  city,  disregarded  her  injunction, 


THE     COURT     OF     FliANC  E.  409 

and  during  the  operations  was  slightly  wounded  by  a  stone. 
The  princess  had  left  the  troops  who  formed  her  escort  at 
the  distance  of  a  mile  from  the  walls,  that  she  mio-ht  not 
alarm  the  citizens  by  a  military  force  ;  and  they  were  order- 
ed to  await  and  conduct  her  to  Gergeau,  in  the  event  of  her 
being  unable  to  make  good  her  entrance  into  Orleans. 

Ere  long,  however,  Mademoislle  was  informed  that  the 
work  was  getting  on  well;  and  upon  this  assurance  she  at 
once  approached  the  scene  of  action,  attended  by  an 
equerry  and  an  exempt;  as  the  quay  was  invested,  and 
that  between  the  princess  and  the  gate  the  river  washed 
the  walls,  a  bridge  was  formed  by  a  couple  of  boats  ;  and, 
as  the  opposite  bank  was  extremely  steep,  a  ladder  was 
placed  in  the  second  boat,  by  which  Mademoiselle,  with 
some  difficulty,  mounted  to  the  assault ;  for  it  unfortunately 
chanced  that,  in  addition  to  its  somewhat  unstable  tenure 
on  its  floating  foundation,  one  of  the  steps  was  broken.  By 
these  means  she  reached  the  quay,  and  had  no  sooner  ar- 
rived there  than  she  ordered  her  guards  to  return  to  the 
carriages,  that  she  might  prove  to  the  authorities  of  Orleans 
the  confidence  with  which  she  entered  their  city,  unac- 
companied by  a  single  armed  man. 

Her  appearance  among  them  tended,  as  a  natural  con- 
sequence, to  animate  the  boatmen  to  increased  exertion, 
while  a  party  of  the  citizens  assisted  them  from  within  ; 
and  the  guard,  which  was  under  arms,  stood  by  in  perfect 
neutrality,  neither  aiding  nor  preventing  the  aggression 
which  threatened  the  destruction  of  their  post. 

At  length  two  of  the  center  planks  of  the  gate  were 
forced,  and  it  was  soon  discovered  that  it  could  not  be  open- 
ed more  effectually,  being  traversed  by  two  weighty  bars  of 
iron  ;  upon  which  the  princess  desired  one  of  her  attendants 
to  take  her  in  his  arms,  and  to  push  her  through  the  aperture, 
whence  her  head  had  no  sooner  emerged  than  the  drums 
beat,  and  the  captain  of  the  guard  drew  her  into  the  city. 
In  an  instant  she  was  on  her  feet,  and  extending  her  hand  to 
vol.  i. — S 


410  I.  0  vi  a     XIV.     AND 

him,  exclaimed,  with  perfect  composure,  "  You  shall  have 
reason  to  rejoice  that  it  was  you  who  effected  my  entrance." 
Cries  of  "Long  live  the  king  and  the  princess,  and  down 
with  Mazarin!"  resounded  on  all  sides;  and  as  on  many 
oreat  occasions  the  sublime  and  the  ridiculous  overpass 
the  one  pace  by  which  they  are  said  to  be  separated,  so 
it  proved  upon  this  also ;  for  while  the  princess  was  radiant 
with  the  triumph  of  her  successful  exploit,  two  men  ap- 
proached her  with  a  wooden  chair,  upon  which  they  almost 
compelled  her  to  seat  herself,  and  thus  bore  her  exultingly 
toward  the  Town-Hall,  where  the  municipal  authorities  had 
congregated  to  discuss  their  measures  at  so  difficult  a  crisis, 
not  having  yet  been  able  to  decide  whether  the  gates  should 
be  opened  to  the  king  or  to  herself;  and  as  bold  actions 
always  involve  the  sympathies  of  the  million,  she  was 
escorted  by  the  whole  of  the  populace,  who  pressed  about 
her  in  order  to  obtain  a  look,  or  to  kiss  the  folds  of  her 
dress. 

Mademoiselle  submitted  to  this  somewhat  equivocal 
honor,  and  advanced  five  or  six  hundred  paces  in  her  im- 
provised equipage ;  but  the  ovation  became  at  length  un- 
endurable, and  she  requested  her  bearers  to  permit  her 
to  alight,  as  she  preferred  finishing  her  walk  on  foot  in  the 
midst  of  her  faithful  citizens.  The  procession  accordingly 
halted,  and  the  ladies  of  her  suite  profited  by  the  circum- 
stance to  rejoin  her.  One  of  the  city  companies  arrived  at 
the  moment,  and  preceded  her,  with  its  drums  beating  and 
all  the  customary  military  honors,  to  the  palace,  which 
was  the  ordinary  residence  of  Monsieur  when  in  the  city. 
Midway  the  princess  was  met  by  the  governor,  who  was 
greatly  embarrassed,  being  aware  that  his  presents  of 
sweetmeats  had  been  but  an  inefficient  proof  of  his  devo- 
tion to  her  cause.  To  him  succeeded  the  municipal  au- 
thorities, equally  ill  at  ease,  who  began  to  stammer  forth  an 
harangue,  which  Mademoiselle,  with  admirable  tact,  cut 
short  by  addressing  them,  and  remarking  that  they  were, 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  411 

no  doubt,  surprised  to  see  her  enter  their  city  otherwise 
than  by  the  usual  gate  ;  but  that,  being  naturally  impatient, 
and  having  found  the  Porte  de  la  Banniere  closed,  and 
another  open,  she  had  passed  through  that ;  at  which  they 
had  every  reason  to  congratulate  themselves,  since  the 
court,  who  were  at  Clery,  could  not  accuse  them  of  her 
admission ;  and  that  all  responsibility  being  thus  removed 
from  themselves,  they  were  consequently  exonerated  from 
whatever  results  might  ensue,  since  she  herself  became 
answerable  for  every  thing;  for  where  persons  of  her  rank 
entered  a  city,  they  became  its  masters,  as  was  their  right, 
and  as  she  had  an  especial  privilege  to  be  considered  in  a 
town  which  belonged  to  Monsieur. 

They  replied  by  an  abundance  of  compliments,  to  which 
they  found  the  princess  ready  with  the  rejoinder,  that  she 
was  quite  convinced  they  were  about,  as  they  stated,  to 
open  their  gates ;  but  that,  for  the  reasons  which  she  had 
already  advanced,  she  was  unwilling  to  leave  them  time  to 
do  so;  after  which  she  turned  the  conversation  to  other 
subjects,  and  continued  to  converse  with  them  as  though 
nothing  remarkable  had  occurred — merely  stating  that  she 
wished  to  proceed  at  once  to  the  Town-Hall,  to  attend  the 
meeting  which  was  to  deliberate  upon  the  entrance  of  the 
royal  counselors  into  the  city.  She  then  sent  an  exempt 
to  desire  that  her  equipages  might  immediately  join  her; 
and  from  that  moment  she  assumed  the  command  of  Or- 
leans, without  comment  or  opposition. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Royal  Progress  through  Orleans — Harangue  at  the  Town-Hall — Defeat 
of  the  Duke  de  Beaufort — Ludicrous  Struggle  between  the  Duke  de 
Nemours  and  the  Duke  de  Beaufort — Arrival  of  M.  de  Conde  at  the 
rebel  Army ;  his  Letter  to  Mademoiselle — State  of  the  royal  Army 
— Singular  Quarrel  between  the  King  and  his  Brother — Anecdotes 
of  the  young  King — The  female  Generals — Return  of  Mademoiselle 
to  Paris;  she  heads  the  Faction — Defeat  of  the  Fronde  at  Etnmpes — 
Courage  of  Louis  XIV. — Sufferings  of  the  royal  Troops — Monsieur 
refuses  to  act — Accredits  Mademoiselle — Mademoiselle  at  the  Town- 
Hall. 

On  the  following  morning  Mademoiselle  was  awakened 
at  the  early  hour  of  seven,  and  advised  to  show  herself  as 
soon  as  possible  in  public,  in  order  to  rally  around  her  all 
such  of  the  citizens  as  yet  remained  undecided  whether  to 
adopt  her  interests  or  those  of  the  royal  counselors,  who 
were  still  awaiting  entrance  into  the  city.  The  princess, 
who  instantly  perceived  the  value  of  this  advice,  lost  no 


LOUIS     XIV.     AND     THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.     413 

time  in  making  her  toilet ;  and,  while  this  was  proceed- 
ing, sent  to  summon  the  governor  and  the  mayor  to  accom- 
pany her  in  her  progress.  The  chains  which  had  been 
stretched  across  the  streets,  as  was,  at  that  period,  usual 
in  all  cities  threatened  with  siege,  were  still  in  their  places: 
and  when  it  was  suggested  that  they  should  be  removed, 
Mademoiselle  objected,  observing  that  she  would  make 
the  tour  of  the  streets  on  foot. 

She  did  so  accordingly;  commencing  her  pilgrimage  by 
attending  mass  at  the  church  of  St.  Catherine,  near  the 
bridge  ;  after  which,  she  ascended  one  of  the  towers  com- 
manding the  faubourg,  whence  she  saw  M.  de  Champla- 
treux  walking  in  front  of  the  Augustine  convent,  in  com- 
pany with  a  number  of  the  court  lords  ;  and,  as  she  was 
anxious  that  the  royal  party  should  be  made  aware  that 
she  was  in  possession  of  the  city,  she  rallied  all  her  officers 
about  her,  whose  blue  scarfs  were  necessarily  sufficiently 
conspicuous  at  once  to  arrest  the  attention  of  the  Mazarin- 
ites,  and  to  reveal  to  them  the  hopelessness  of  their  errand, 
even  without  the  shouts  of  the  populace  who  were  collect- 
ed upon  the  bridge,  and  who  rent  the  air  with  cries  of 
"  Long  live  the  king  and  the  princess  !"  and  "  Down  with 
Mazarin  !" 

These  shouts  were  echoed  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  fau- 
bourg; the  guard  upon  the  bridge  fired  a  volley;  and  then 
the  exclamations  became  so  vehement  and  so  persevering, 
that  the  princess,  delighted  with  the  effect  produced  by  her 
presence,  and,  at  last,  perfectly  in  her  element,  ordered  the 
guards  to  be  doubled,  in  order  to  prove  to  the  council  that 
they  had  nothing  to  hope  ;  and,  in  consequence,  the  king 
left  Clery  the  same  day,  and  passed  the  night  at  Sully. 

From  the  church,  Mademoiselle,  after  traversing  the 
principal  streets,  proceeded  to  the  palace  of  the  bishop, 
with  whom  she  dined  ;  and  thence  to  the  Town-Hall,  where 
she  was  considerably  less  at  her  ease  than  when  surround- 
ed by  the  troops  and  the  mob.     When  she  found  herself 


411  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

seated  in  a  great  chair,  in  the  midst  of  the  most  profound 
silence,  she  confesses  that  she  was  extremely  embarrassed, 
never  having  spoken  in  public,  and  being,  moreover,  very 
ignorant ;  but  the  exigency  of  her  position  gave  her  cour- 
age; and  she  made  a  long  speech,  in  which  she  dilated 
upon  the  great  interest  taken  by  her  royal  father  in  his 
good  city  of  Orleans ;  which  he  had  felt  that  he  could  not 
better  testify  than  by  sending,  as  his  representative,  the 
person  who  was  most  dear  to  him,  when  prevented  by  im- 
jjortant  business  in  Paris  from  hastening  himself  to  protect 
it  from  the  evil  designs  of  the  cardinal  ;  and  that  she  had, 
consequently,  accepted  the  mission  in  the  same  spirit ;  and 
had  come,  either  to  assist  the  citizens  to  defend  themselves, 
or,  should  this  unfortunately  become  impossible,  to  perish 
with  them. 

At  the  conclusion  of  her  harangue,  the  princess  received 
the  thanks  of  the  meeting ;  and,  on  leaving  the  Town-Hall, 
she  saw  the  windows  of  the  prison  crowded  with  soldiers, 
who  entreated  her  to  grant  their  release.  She  inquired  of 
the  authorities  the  nature  of  their  crime,  and  was  informed 
that  there  were  several  accusations  against  them  ;  upon 
which  she  offered  to  hang  them  all  in  the  public  squares 
of  the  city ;  but  the  magistrates  refused  to  profit  by  her 
proposal,  and  left  them  entirely  to  her  mercy.  Mademoi- 
selle had  calculated  upon  this  concession,  and  instantly 
releasing  the  whole  number,  desired  that  their  horses  and 
arms  should  be  restored  to  them,  and  that  they  should 
forthwith  join  the  army,  to  which,  by  this  circumstance, 
she  added  a  body  of  between  forty  and  fifty  horsemen. 

It  was  late  in  the  evening  before  she  returned  to  the 
palace  ;  and,  shortly  afterward,  a  letter  was  delivered  to 
her  from  the  Duke  de  Beaufort,  in  which  he  announced 
that  he  had  been  unable  to  meet  Her  Royal  Highness  ac- 
cording to  his  promise,  having  been  anxious  to  capture  the 
king,  who  had  ascended  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river ;  in 
which   view  he   had  attempted   to  pass  the  Loire  by  the 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  415 

bridge  of  Gergau.  He  had,  however,  signally  failed  in 
his  object,  Marshal  Turenne  having  checked  his  advance 
by  a  magnificent  defense  ;  and,  without  having  accom- 
plished one  object  of  usefulness  or  advantage,  he  had 
sacrificed  a  great  number  of  brave  men,  and  among  the 
rest,  Sirot,  Baron  de  Vitaux,  who  was  one  of  the  lieuten- 
ant-generals of  the  prince  at  Rocroy — a  man  of  birth, 
merit,  and  great  military  reputation,  who  was  mortally 
wounded  in  the  lower  jaw,  and  whom  Mademoiselle 
caused  to  be  transported  to  Orleans,  in  order  that  no  ex- 
ertion might  be  spared  to  save  him.  All  her  care  was, 
however,  unfortunately  of  no  avail,  as  he  only  survived  his 
hurt  a  few  days. 

The  Baron  de  Vitaux  was  a  serious  loss  to  the  party  of 
the  princess,  being  a  soldier  of  great  experience,  who  had 
been  reared  in  the  army  of  the  Emperor  of  Germany ; 
where  he  had,  by  a  singular  fatality,  exchanged  pistol- 
shots  with  three  kings — those  of  Bohemia,  Poland,  and 
Sweden — and  had  even  perforated  the  hat  of  the  latter. 
He  had  served  the  king  faithfully  for  years,  and  was 
covered  with  wounds  ;  but  his  claims  having  been  over- 
looked, he  abandoned  the  court,  and  retired  to  his  estates 
in  Burgundy,  whence  Monsieur  had  induced  him  to  emerge 
in  order  to  join  the  Fronde.  The  annoyance  of  Mademoi- 
selle was,  consequently,  great  when  she  learned  the  ill- 
advised  Quixotism  of  M.  de  Beaufort,  with  its  fatal  results; 
and  she  wrote  to  both  himself  and  the  Duke  de  Nemours 
to  desire  them  to  attend  her  at  a  hotel  in  the  faubourg, 
in  order  that  no  future  step  might  be  taken  without  the 
general  concuiTence  of  herself  and  her  council.  They  met 
accordingly  ;  but  as  the  two  noble  brothers-in-law  were  at 
variance,  they  profited  by  this  opportunity,  greatly  to  the 
terror  of  the  princess,  to  quarrel  as  to  the  direction  in 
which  the  army  was  to  march,  and  disregarding  the  pres- 
ence of  Mademoiselle,  proceeded  from  words  to  blows, 
M.  de  Beaufort  striking  the  Duke  de  Nemours  on  the  face, 


410  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

and  the  duke  replying  by  pulling  off  the  wig  of  his  oppo- 
nent. Each  then  drew  his  sword  ;  but  the  princess  caused 
them  to  be  instantly  separated,  exacting,  as  some  repara- 
tion for  the  disrespect  which  they  had  exhibited  toward 
herself,  that  they  should  instantly  become  reconciled.  It 
was,  however,  much  more  easy  to  will  such  a  reconciliation 
than  to  compel  it ;  and  it  was  not  without  extreme  diffi- 
culty and  long  expostulation,  that  Mademoislle  succeeded 
in  inducing  the  two  princes  to  embrace  in  her  presence  ; 
when  she  says  that  M.  de  Beaufort  advanced  toward  his 
brother-in-law,  with  open  arms,  and  his  eyes  filled  with 
tears,  while  that  brother  received  and  returned  his  em- 
brace as  he  would  have  done  that  of  a  footman. 

Nothing  was,  consequently,  decided  at  this  interview  ; 
which  had,  nevertheless,  absorbed  so  much  time,  that  the 
inhabitants  of  Orleans  were  becoming  uneasy  at  the  long 
absence  of  the  princess  ;  and  she  considered  it  expedient 
to  explain  to  the  principal  authorities  the  cause  of  the  de- 
lay ;  after  which  she  retired  to  her  apartments,  and  wrote 
to  the  two  belligerents,  beseeching  them  to  live  more  ami- 
cably for  the  future,  not  only  for  their  own  sakes,  but  also 
for  that  of  the  common  cause ;  and  to  order  the  army  to 
march  immediately  upon  Montargis.* 

On  the  following  Saturday  the  princess  received  the  re- 
ply of  Monsieur  to  a  letter  which  she  had  written  to  him,  an- 
nouncing her  entrance  into  Orleans  ;  and  she  declares  that 
her  delight  was  great  at  the  tenderness  which  it  exhibited, 

*  Montargis,  situate  seventeen  leagues  from  Orleans,  is  the  capital 
of  the  department  of  the  Loiret,  and  commands  both  the  Loire  and  the 
Yonne.  The  town  stretches  along  the  base  of  a  lofty  eminence,  near 
a  fine  forest  which  bears  its  name.  In  its  immediate  neighborhood 
still  exists  the  ruins  of  a  castle,  where,  on  one  of  the  chimney-pieces 
of  the  great  hall,  is  sculptured  the  history  of  the  celebrated  Aubry  de 
Mont-Didier,  whose  dog  is  asserted  to  have  attacked  and  overcome  the 
assassin  of  his  master,  in  the  presence  of  Charles  VIII.  The  town  was 
founded  in  the  reign  of  Clovis ;  and  in  the  twelfth  century  belonged 
to  the  Courtenay  family. 


THE     COURT      OF     FRANCE.  417 

although  our  readers  will  probably  attribute  a  very  differ- 
ent feeling  to  the  writer.      Thus  it  ran  : — 


"  My  Daughter, 
"  You  may  believe  the  joy  which  I  felt  at  the  action  you 
have  just  accomplished  :  you  have  saved  Orleans  for  me, 
and  insured  Paris.  It  is  a  general  subject  of  congratula- 
tion; and  every  one  says  that  your  exploit  is  worthy  of  the 
granddaughter  of  Henry  the  Great.  1  never  doubted  your 
daring;  but,  on  this  occasion,  I  have  learned  that  you  have 
even  more  prudence  than  courage.  I  must  tell  you,  more- 
over, that  I  am  delighted  at  what  you  have  done,  as  much 
for  your  sake  as  for  mine.  Henceforward  write  to  me 
through  your  secretary,  for  the  reason  you  wot  of. 

"  Gaston." 

This  reason,  as  Mademoiselle  herself  asserts,  was  the 
extreme  difficulty  experienced  by  every  one  in  decipher- 
ing her  writing,  which  was  unusually  illegible. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  following  month  (April) 
the  princess  received  the  welcome  intelligence  that  M.  de 
Conde  had  assumed  the  command  of  the  army — news 
which  was  on  the  morrow  confirmed  by  a  letter  to  herself, 
in  which  he  complimented  her  upon  the  heroism  of  her 
conduct,  and  assured  her  of  his  irrevocable  attachment  to 
the  interests  of  Monsieur,  and  his  devotion  to  her  own  per- 
son. He  brought,  however,  no  reinforcement  to  the  troops, 
being  accompanied  by  only  seven  individuals;  and  having 
left  Agen  almost  in  a  state  of  revolt  against  him  in  the 
rear,  and  his  whole  family  divided  into  parties.  He  had 
made  the  whole  journey  from  Bordeaux  to  Orleans  in  the 
short  space  of  seven  days,  and  had  narrowly  escaped  be- 
ing taken  at  Cosne  by  a  captain  of  the  royal  army,  who 
only  missed  him  by  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  He  was  also 
in  great  danger  of  discovery  at  an  inn  by  the  roadside; 
where,  being  disguised    as  a  groom,  he  was   ordered   to 

s* 


418  LOUIS      XIV.      A  N  li 

saddle  and  bridle  a  horse,  a  .task  "which  he  could  not 
accomplish. 

Despite  all  these  drawbacks,  however,  the  sole  presence 
of  M.  de  Conde  was  an  incalculable  advantage  to  the  army, 
who  relied  upon  his  reputation  as  confidently  as  they 
would  have  done  upon  an  augmentation  of  their  force. 
When  he  reached  the  advanced  guard  he  had  been  stop- 
ped by  the  sentinel,  to  whom  his  person  was  unknown  ; 
and,  irritated  by  the  circumstance,  he  refused  to  declare 
his  identity ;  when,  fortunately,  a  German  colonel  who 
commanded  the  guard,  impressed  with  the  conviction  that 
it  was  the  prince,  alighted  from  his  horse,  and  approaching 
that  of  M.  de  Conde,  suddenly  embraced  his  knees,  pro- 
nouncing his  name  at  the  same  time.  In  an  instant  it  was 
echoed  on  every  side,  and  a  wild  spirit  of  enthusiasm  per- 
vaded all  ranks. 

Only  seven  days  subsequently,  the  princess  received  a 
second  letter  from  the  great  general,  couched  in  these 
terms  : — 

"  Mademoiselle, 
"  I  receive  so  many  new  proofs  of  your  goodness,  that 
words  fail  me  to  thank  you  ;  I  will  merely  assure  you  that 
there  is  nothing  which  I  would  not  undertake  for  your  ser- 
vice ;  do  me  the  honor  to  be  convinced  of  this,  and  to  rely 
upon  it.  I  yesterday  obtained  information  that  the  Maza- 
rin  army  had  crossed  the  river,  and  had  separated  to  differ- 
ent stations.  I  resolved  instantly  to  attack  them  in  these 
places ;  and  this  measure  succeeded  so  well,  that  I  fell 
upon  their  first  quarters  before  they  had  any  warning.  I 
first  overcame  three  regiments  of  dragoons ;  and  then  I 
marched  to  the  head-quarters  of  Hocquincourt,  which  I  also 
carried.  There  was  some  little  resistance,  but  finally  all 
were  routed.  We  followed  them  for  three  hours,  after 
which  we  moved  toward  M.  de  Turenne ;  but  we  found 
him  posted  so  advantageously,  and  our  own  troops  were  so 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  419 

weary  with  the  long  march,  and  so  loaded  with  the  booty 
which  they  had  made,  that  we  did  not  consider  it  right  to 
attack  him  at  a  disadvantage  ;  all,  therefore,  passed  in  a 
cannonade;  and,  finally,  he  retreated.  All  the  troops  of 
Hocquincourt  were  routed  ;  all  the  baggage  taken  ;  and 
the  booty  amounted  to  between  two  and  three  thousand 
horses,  a  number  of  prisoners,  and  their  store  of  ammuni- 
tion. M.  de  Nemours  did  wonders;  and  was  wounded  in 
the  hip  by  a  pistol-bullet,  but  not  dangerously.  M.  de 
Beaufort  had  his  horse  killed,  and  behaved  very  well;  M. 
de  la  Rochefoucauld  very  well ;  Clinchamp,  Tovannes,  and 
Valon,  the  same ;  as  did  all  the  other  adjutant-generals. 
Mare  was  struck  by  a  cannon-ball ;  but,  beside  these,  we 
have  not  lost  thirty  men.  I  think  that  you  will  be  glad  to 
hear  this  news ;  and  will  not  doubt  that  I  am,  Mademoi- 
selle, your  very  humble  and  very  obedient  servant, 

"  Louis  de  Bourbon." 

This  intelligence  was,  indeed,  most  welcome  to  the 
princess,  although  she  was  deeply  grieved  on  ascertaining 
that  so  many  of  her  personal  friends  had  suffered  in  the 
conflict.  The  count  de  Mare  did  not  survive  his  wound  ; 
and  although  the  result  of  the  engagement  strengthened 
the  faction  at  Paris,  great  uneasiness  existed  as  to  the  ulti- 
mate fate  of  M.  de  Nemours,  whose  hurt  did  not,  however, 
prove  fatal. 

In  the  royal  army  all  was  consternation.  The  court  was 
at  Gien,*  suffering  every  species  of  deprivation.  The  de- 
feat of  the  Marshal  d'Hocquincourt  had  occasioned  great 
alarm ;  and  the  queen  no  sooner  ascertained  that  the  two 
armies  had   met,  than   she   issued   an   order  that   all  the 

*  Gien  is  situated  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Loire,  at  fifteen  and  a 
half  leagues  from  Orleans.  It  possesses  a  fine  castle,  built,  it  is  be- 
lieved, by  Charlemagne,  and  which  has  been  inhabited  by  several  of 
the  French  kings,  among  others,  by  Charles  VII.,  Francis  I.,  and 
Louis  XIV. 


420  LOUIS   XIV.     AND 

equipages  and  baggage  should  be  -transported  to  the  op- 
posite bank  of  the  river,  in  order  that  an  immediate  flight 
might  be  rendered  easy,  and  the  bridge  destroyed  after 
the  passage  of  the  king's  suite.  At  dawn  on  the  following 
moraine,  all  the  carriages,  filled  with  the  ladies  of  the 
court,  were  accordingly  collected  on  the  other  side  the 
Loire;  but  the  operation  was  so  ill-conducted,  that  had 
M.  de  Conde  pui'sued  his  advantage,  he  might  have  forced 
M.  de  Turenne,  whose  command  was  very  inconsiderable, 
and  captured  the  whole  party,  who  ultimately  arrived  in 
such  a  state  of  bewilderment  at  St.  Fargeau,  that  they 
neither  knew  what  they  were  doing,  nor  what  they  ought 
to  do.* 

M.  de  Senneterre  asserts  that  this  was  the  only  occasion 
upon  which  he  had  seen  the  queen  thoroughly  hopeless 
and  depressed,  for  she  scarcely  could  decide  in  what  di- 
rection to  turn  her  steps  ;  and  told  him  that  she  felt  con- 
vinced, had  M.  de  Turenne  shown  less  firmness  and  abil- 
ity, and  suffered  himself  to  be  defeated  like  the  Marshal 
d'Hocquincourt,  every  city  in  the  province  would  have  fol- 
lowed the  example  of  Orleans,  and  closed  its  gates  against 
the  king.f 

As  the  royal  fugitives  pursued  their  retreat  to  Monte- 
reau  they  were  exposed,  not  only  to  privation,  but  to 
absolute  robbery  from  each  other ;  nor  was  the  young 
sovereign  himself  exempted  from  this  pillage,  but  lost  sev- 
eral of  his  best  horses.  From  Montereau  they  next  pro- 
ceeded to  Corbeil,J  where  an  adventure  occurred  which 
is  too  laughable  to  be  omitted,  and  which  we  will  give  in 
the  words  of  Laporte,  who  was  an  eye-witness  to  the 
quarrel. 

"  The  king,"  he  says,  "insisted  that  Monsieur^  should 

*  Laporte.  t  Memoires  du  Cardinal  de  Retz. 

|  Corbeil  stands  upon  the  right  bank  of  the  Seine,  twelve  and  a  half 
leagues  from  Versailles,  and  three  from  Melun. 
§  The  Duke  d'Anjou. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  42 1 

sleep  in  his  room,  which  was  so  small  that  only  one  per- 
son could  pass.  In  the  morning,  as  they  lay  awake,  the 
king  inadvertently  spat  upon  the  bed  of  Monsieur,  who 
immediately  spat  upon  the  king's  bed;  thereupon  Louis, 
getting  angry,  spat  in  his  brother's  face  ;  and  when  they 
could  spit  no  longer,  they  proceeded  to  drag  each  other's 
sheets  on  to  the  floor:  after  which  they  prepared  to  fio-ht. 
During  this  quarrel  I  did  what  I  could  to  restrain  the  king; 
but  as  I  could  not  succeed,  I  sent  for  M.  de  Villeroy,  who 
reestablished  peace.  Monsieur  lost  his  temper  sooner  than 
the  king ;  but  the  king  was  much  more  difficult  to  appease 
than  Monsieur." 

The  court  diverged  from  its  proper  road,  leaving  Paris 
on  the  left ;  and  pursued  its  way  to  St.  Germain,  where 
it  was  ascertained  that  the  Parisians  had  destroyed  the 
bridges,  a  circumstance  which  shed  gloom  over  every 
countenance ;  as,  after  all  their  sufferings,  the  courtiers 
had  looked  forward  to  a  compensation  from  the  stores  of 
the  capital.  No  one  possessed  any  ready  money  save  the 
cardinal,  who  was  suspected  of  having  made  a  good  pro- 
vision in  case  of  need,  although  he  declared  that  he  was  as 
poor  as  the  meanest  soldier  in  the  ranks. 

Laporte  gives  several  anecdotes  of  the  young  king  at  this 
period,  which  are  eminently  characteristic  of  the  after  man. 

The  news  of  the  battle  at  Etampes*  reached  the  court 

*  Etampes  is  distant  thirteen  and  three  quarter  leagues  from  Ver- 
sailles, in  the  department  of  Seine  and  Oise.  It  is  a  very  ancient  town, 
and  is  mentioned  during  the  first  race  of  Frankish  kings,  under  the 
7iame  of  Stampa.  Sacked  by  Rollo  in  911,  it  was  rebuilt  by  King  Rob- 
ert, who  founded  there  several  religious  houses.  It  shared  in  the 
events  of  the  14th  and  15th  centuries,  which  plunged  all  France  into 
consternation,  and  was  ravaged  by  the  Orleans  faction.  Francis  I. 
raised  the  county  of  Etampes  into  a  duchy,  in  favor  of  John  de  Brasses. 
Etampes  was  several  times  taken  and  retaken  during  the  religious 
wrars ;  and  became,  in  1589,  the  rendezvous  of  the  forces  of  the  League. 
Henry  IV.  took  possession  of  it  in  1590,  and  razed  the  fortifications  of 
the  castle  built  by  King  Robert,  of  which  the  ruins  still  remain. 


422  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

during  the  night,  accompanied  by  the  intelligence  that  the 
princess  had  been  worsted ;  and  M.  de  Villeroy,  to  whom 
it  was  first  communicated,  hastened  to  inform  the  king 
and  the  Duke  d'Anjou  of  the  propitious  event.  They,  as 
well  as  Laporte,  instantly  sprang  from  their  beds,  and 
rushed  in  their  slippers,  nightcaps,  and  dressing-gowns  to 
the  chamber  of  the  cardinal,  whom  they  awakened  with 
the  joyful  tidings ;  and  who  hurried,  in  his  turn,  and  in 
the  same  unsophisticated  costume,  to  announce  them  to 
the  queen.  This  anecdote  explains  better  than  any  labor- 
ed description  the  uneasiness  of  the  court  at  that  period, 
and  the  natural  energy  of  Louis. 

About  the  same  time  another  circumstance  occurred, 
which,  trivial  as  it  was,  serves  to  prove  the  perfect  help- 
lessness of  the  king,  although  he  had  attained  his  majority, 
and  was  supposed  to  be  the  sovereign  of  a  powerful  nation. 
Birragues,  the  first  valet  of  the  king's  wardrobe,  had  a 
cousin  who  was  an  ensign  in  the  regiment  of  Picardy, 
and  who,  having  been  wounded  at  Etampes,  petitioned 
for  his  promotion  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant,  his  superior 
officer  having  been  killed  in  the  same  engagement;  and 
requested  M.  de  Crequy,  the  first  gentleman  of  the  cham- 
ber on  duty,  to  use  his  interest  with  the  young  monarch 
in  behalf  of  his  kinsman.  Louis  considered  the  request  to 
be  a  just  one,  and  readily  promised  to  speak  to  the  queen 
and  the  cardinal  in  his  behalf;  but  as,  after  a  lapse  of  sev- 
eral days,  the  king  had  not  adverted  to  the  circumstance, 
M.  de  Crequy,  during  his  toilet,  ventured  to  ask  him  if  he 
had  been  good  enough  to  remember  the  solicitations  of 
M.  de  Birragues.  Louis  made  no  reply,  and  endeavored 
to  appear  as  though  he  had  not  heard  the  question  ;  upon 
which,  Laporte,  who  was  arranging  his  dress,  remarked 
that  those  who  had  the  honor  to  serve  His  Majesty  were 
very  unfortunate,  since  they  could  not  hope  even  to  obtain 
justice.  As  he  ceased  speaking,  Louis  whispered  in  his 
ear : 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  423 

"It  is  not  my  fault,  my  clear  Laporte,  I  spoke  to  Mm 
about  it,  but  it  was  of  no  use." 

As  the  young  king  never  mentioned  the  cardinal  in  any 
other  manner,  from  the  hatred  which  he  bore  toward  him, 
the  friends  of  the  applicant  were  thus  informed  whence  the 
obstacle  arose. 

On  a  subsequent  occasion,  Laporte  was  summoned  dur- 
ing his  breakfast ;  and  on  entering  the  chamber  of  Louis, 
the  king  drew  out  a  handful  of  gold,  saying  that  the  super- 
intendent of  finance  had  sent  him  a  hundred  louis  as 
pocket-money,  to  enable  him  to  be  liberal  to  the  soldiers ; 
and  that  he  wished  him  to  take  care  of  them  for  him. 
Laporte  respectfully  remonstrated,  suggesting  that  they 
were  better  in  the  keeping  of  His  Majesty.  Louis,  how- 
ever, persisted,  saying  that  with  his  high  boots  the  money 
would  be  troublesome.  This  objection  was  happily  over- 
ruled, by  the  attendant  recommending  that  instead  of  car- 
rying it  in  his  haut-de-chausses,  the  king  should  deposit  it 
in  the  pocket  of  his  vest ;  and  Louis,  delighted  with  any 
any  arrangement  which  enabled  him  to  enjoy  the  novelty 
of  bearing  a  sum  of  money  upon  his  pei'son,  at  once  adopt- 
ed the  expedient.  He  was  not,  however,  destined  to  be 
long  burdened  with  the  unaccustomed  freight ;  and  the 
manner  in  which  he  became  dispossessed  of  it,  is  quite  as 
characteristic  as  his  embarrassment  on  its  receipt. 

During  the  sojourn  of  the  court  at  St.  Germain,  Moreau, 
the  first  valet  of  the  wardrobe,  had  advanced  eleven  pis- 
toles for  the  royal  gloves  ;  and  as,  like  all  those  about  him, 
he  was  distressed  for  funds,  the  want  of  this  hundred  and 
ten  livres  had  inconvenienced  him  considerably  ;  and  he 
accordingly  no  sooner  ascertained  that  the  young  king 
had  come  into  possession  of  a  hundred  louis,  than  he  en- 
treated Laporte  to  obtain  for  him  the  sum  that  he  had 
advanced. 

As  he  was  assisting  the  young  sovereign  in  his  arrange- 
ments for  the  night,  Laporte  accordingly  reminded  him  of 


424  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

the  debt,  and  informed  him  that  he  had  promised  to  men- 
tion it  to  His  Majesty;  but  the  worthy  functionary  was 
too  late  in  his  application.  Mazarin  had  ascertained  that 
Louis  was  in  possession  of  the  money,  and  by  some  means 
or  other  had  obtained  it  from  him.* 

Meanwhile,  Mademoiselle  began  to  weary  of  her  inac- 
tive life  at  Orleans,  whence  the  tide  of  war  had  rolled 
away,  and  decided  upon  returning  to  Paris.  She  conse- 
quently dispatched  a  trumpeter  to  M.  de  Turenne,  and  to 
the  Marshal  d'Hocquincourt,  who  were  encamped  at  Cha- 
tres,  on  the  high  road  between  Paris  and  Etampes,  to 
request  passports,  as  she  was  anxious  to  visit  the  capital 
without  delay ;  and,  after  leaving  Orleans,  she  found  at 
Angerville  the  escort  which  had  been  sent  to  meet  her.; 
when,  the  weather  being  remarkably  fine,  she  mounted  on 
horseback,  accompanied  by  the  countesses  of  Fiesque  and 
Frontenac,  who  still  remained  with  her,  and  to  whom,  on 
that  account,  Monsieur  had  written  shortly  after  their  en- 
trance into  Orleans,  complimenting  them  upon  their  cour- 
age, and  addressing  the  letter  to  The  Countesses,  Adjutant- 
Generals,  in  the  Army  of  my  Daughter  against  Mazarin. 

De  Retz  states  that  Monsieur  felt  so  little  confidence  in 
the  prudence  of  the  princess,  that  when  she  offered  to  act 
as  his  representative  at  Orleans,  he  consented  with  great 
reluctance ;  and  on  the  very  day  when  she  took  leave  of 
him,  and  commenced  her  journey,  he  remarked  that  this 
exhibition  of  chivalry  would  have  been  very  absurd  if  it 
had  not  been  sustained  by  the  good  sense  of  the  two  ladies 
who  were  her  companions.  It  is,  however,  extremely 
probable  that  the  Quixotism  of  the  adventure,  so  long  as  it 
ensured  his  own  safety,  would  have  been  equally  welcome 
to  the  Duke  d'Orleans,  even  had  Mademoiselle  under- 
taken it  without  any  extraneous  support. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  certain  that  from  the  arrival  of 
the    duke's    letter,   so  superscribed,   all  the   commanding 
*   Laporte. 


THE     COURT     OF     PRANCE.  425 

officers  of  the  army  of  the  Fronde  paid  the  two  countesses 
the  honor  due  to  the  rank  which  Monsieur,  in  a  moment 
of  unusual  hilarity,  had  assigned  to  them ;  and,  in  accord- 
ance with  this  arrangement,  as  they  passed  along  the  line 
of  one  of  the  German  regiments,  which  was  marching  in 
front  of  Mademoiselle,  M.  de  Chavagnac,  who  commanded 
her  escort,  halted  corps,  and  desired  the  Count  de  Quinski, 
its  colonel,  to  pay  them  the  honors  due  to  their  military 
rank,  which  he  did  without  hesitation  ;  entering  into  the 
jest,  says  Mademoiselle,  as  though  he  had  been  a  French- 
man ;  first  causing  the  troops  to  draw  their  swords  and 
salute  them  according  to  the  German  fashion,  and  then 
detaching  a  whole  squadron  in  order  to  render  the  honor 
more  complete  :  a  homage  the  more  flattering  as  the  gal- 
lant count  was  the  nephew  of  Wallenstein. 

The  princess  remained  a  day  at  Etampes,  awaiting  her 
passports,  for  which  M.  de  Turenne  had  dispatched  a  mes- 
senger to  St.  Germain,  where  the  court  were  then  resid- 
ing ;  and  she  employed  it  by  holding  a  levee,  where  all 
the  officers  appeared  in  full  costume.  In  the  evening  she 
received  not  only  the  required  passports,  but  also  an  inti- 
mation that  the  two  royalist  marshals  would  meet  her  on 
the  morrow  outside  their  quarters  with  their  army  in  battle 
array.  Clinchamp,  however,  whose  veteran  experience  led 
him  to  doubt  this  fact,  asserted  that  they  would  do  nothing 
of  the  kind ;  but,  knowing  that  she  had  not  seen  their  own 
troops  collected,  and  believing  that  they  would  leave  their 
position  on  the  same  occasion,  they  were  anxious  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  opportunity  to  offer  battle.  The  event 
proved  the  correctness  of  his  judgment,  for  it  was  shortly 
afterward  ascertained  that  the  king's  forces  were  marching 
toward  them.  In  consequence,  Mademoiselle  ordered 
the  whole  of  the  troops  to  enter  the  town,  a  movement 
which  was  hastily  accomplished  ;  and  she  then  got  into 
her  carriage,  and  pursued  her  way  toward  Paris. 

At  Chatres  she  found   the  Baron   d'Apremont,  who  ex- 


426  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

pressed  to  her  the  great  regret  felt  by  the  two  marshals 
that  they  could  not  await  her  arrival  as  they  had  proposed 
to  do,  having  been  compelled  to  march  upon  Etampes. 
He  then  gave  her  a  cornet  and  twenty  men  as  her  escort, 
and  himself  accompanied  her  for  a  quarter  of  a  league  on 
her  journey.  At  Bourg-la-Reine  the  princess  was  met  by 
M.  de  Conde,  the  Duke  de  Beaufort,  the  Prince  de  Ta- 
rente,  M.  de  Rohan,  and  all  the  men  of  rank  then  sojourn- 
ing at  Paris.  As  her  carriage  approached,  the  prince 
alighted,  saluted  her,  and  took  his  seat  in  her  coach  ;  she 
next  encountered  the  duchesses  of  Epernon  and  Sully, 
who  also  joined  her  party ;  and  they  beguiled  the  remain- 
der of  the  journey  by  listening  to  a  detail  of  all  her  pro- 
ceedings at  Orleans.  As  Mademoiselle  drew  near  the 
capital,  she  found  half  the  population  outside  the  gates  to 
welcome  her ;  and  the  road,  to  the  extent  of  a  league,  bor- 
dered with  carriages  of  every  description;  nor  was  she  by 
any  means  insensible  to  this  popular  demonstration,  amid 
which  she  forgot  the  intelligence  of  M.  de  Conde,  that  Mon- 
sieur was  seriously  displeased  by  her  departure  from  Or- 
leans without  his  permission. 

She  alighted  at  the  Orleans  palace,  where  a  great  crowd 
had  assembled ;  and  whatever  might  be  the  real  feelings 
of  His  Royal  Highness,  whom  she  found  in  his  bed,  he  re- 
ceived her  with  tolerable  graciousness  ;  for  which  she  was, 
without  doubt,  indebted  to  M.  de  Conde,  who  requested  per- 
mission to  be  present  at  the  interview,  lest  the  Duke  d'Or- 
leans  should  reproach  her  with  her  unauthorized  return  to 
Paris.  Having  given  him  an  account  of  the  leading  circum- 
stances of  her  journey,  and  informed  him  of  the  projected  at- 
tack on  Etampes,  she  next  proceeded  to  pay  her  respects 
to  Madame,  who  greeted  her  with  considerable  coldness  ; 
and  as  the  princess  was  still  accompanied  by  M.  de  Conde, 
whom  the  duchess  had  never  liked,  she  expended  the  an- 
noyance which  she  felt  at  the  advantage  obtained  over  her 
by  Mademoiselle  on  this  occasion,  when  the  popularity  of 


T  HE     COURT     OF     FRANC  E.  427 

the  one  contrasted  so  painfully  with  the  enforced  insignifi- 
cance of  the  other,  by  exclaiming  that  the  boots  of  the 
prince  smelled  so  strongly  of  leather  that  she  could  not  sup- 
port it ;  and  M.  de  Conde  was  consequently  obliged  to 
leave  the  room. 

After  a  very  brief  visit,  the  princess  retired  in  her  turn, 
and  hastened  to  receive  the  congratulations  of  the  court- 
iers who  were  assembled  in  the  cabinet.  Here  she  again 
found  the  prince  surrounded  by  all  the  pretty  women  of 
the  court ;  and  after  an  exchange  of  compliments,  she  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Cours*  in  the  coach  of  Madame  de  Ne- 
mours, accompanied  also  by  the  duchesses  of  Epernon, 
Sully,  and  Chatillon,  and  the  two  attendant  countesses ; 
the  prince,  the  Duke  de  Beaufort,  and  other  nobles  follow- 
ing in  a  second  ccrriage. 

On  the  morrow,  a  courier  reached  the  princess  with  the 
news  of  the  defeat  of  the  forces  of  the  Fronde  at  Etampes  ; 
which,  as  we  have  already  stated,  the  court  had  ascertain- 
ed during  the  night.  Many  prisoners  had  been  taken,  but 
few  officers  of  rank  had  fallen.  The  event  was,  however, 
most  unfortunate  for  the  faction  ;  and  Mademoiselle  felt  it 
the  more  keenly  as  it  contrasted  very  disadvantageous^ 
with  the  ovation  of  which  she  was  even  then  the  object. 
All  Paris,  as  she  declares,  visited  her  during  the  day  ;  and 
her  apartments  were  so  crowded  that  there  was  great  dif- 
ficulty in  moving.  The  King  of  England  was  among  her 
guests,  although  he  by  no  means  sympathized  in  her  inter- 
ests, having  sent  the  Duke  of  York  to  serve  as  a  volunteer 
under  Marshal  Turenne ;  and  he  was,  consequently,  care- 
ful to  avoid  all  allusion  to  the  encounter  at  Etampes.  The 
Queen  of  England  on  the  contrary,  spoke  freely  of  passing 
events ;  and  when  she  learned  the  forced  entrance  of  the 
princess    into    Orleans,    remarked    with    somewhat    bitter 

*  The  fashionable  promenade  and  drive  of  the  court,  which  extended 
in  a  straight  line  from  the  gardens  of  the  Tuileries  to  the  extremity  of 
tlie  Champs  Elys6es. 


428  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

pleasantry,  that  she  was  not  astonished  to  find  that  Made- 
moiselle had  saved  the  city  from  the  hands  of  her  ene- 
mies, as  Joan  of  Arc  had  done  before  her ;  or  that,  like 
her,  she  had  commenced  by  repelling  the  English — alluding 
to  the  objection  which  had  been  made  by  the  princess  to 
the  visits  of  her  son.  As  this  caustic  observation  was  ne- 
cessarily repeated  to  Mademoiselle,  it  engendered  a  cool- 
ness that  induced  Queen  Henrietta  to  offer  an  apology  ; 
which  was,  however,  tendered  rather  upon  the  occasion  of 
some  impertinent  remarks  in  which  one  of  her  personal 
friends  had  indulged  on  the  subject  of  the  Fronde,  than 
supposed  to  be  necessitated  by  her  own  words;  and  this 
done,  the  princess,  continued  to  pay  her  respects  to  her 
royal  aunt  as  usual. 

But  while  Mademoiselle  thus  found  herself  the  idol  of 
the  capital,  the  court  had  proceeded  to  besiege  Etampes, 
and  this  expedition  may  in  truth  be  considered  as  the  first 
serious  campaign  of  Louis  XIV.  He  acquitted  himself 
well  for  so  mere  a  youth,  several  bullets  having  passed 
close  beside  him  without  his  evincing  the  slightest  fear ; 
and  as  every  one  was  congratulating  him  upon  his  courage, 
when  he  was  retiring  for  the  night  he  turned  toward  his 
favorite  valet-de-chambre,  and  inquired  if  he  had  been 
frightened  1     Laporte  replied  in  the  negative. 

"You  are  a  brave  man,  then;"  said  the  king. 

"Sire;"  was  the  clever  rejoinder ;  "one  is  always  brave 
when  one  is  pennyless."  Louis  laughed  ;  the  epigram  was 
as  intelligible  to  both  himself  and  Mazarin  as  to  the  ut- 
terer.* 

The  young  sovereign  could  scarcely  have  commenced 
the  career  of  arms  under  more  painful  circumstances. 
On  every  side  he  was  surrounded  by  sick  and  wounded 
soldiers,  who  implored  the  help  which  he  was  unable  to  af- 
ford. Not  possessing  a  louis  d'or  which  he  could  call  his 
own,  he  was  compelled  to  look  on  with  a  bleeding  heart, 
*  Laporte. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  429 

perhaps,  but  certainly  with  a  closed  hand ;  nor  did  the  as- 
pect of  the  captured  town  afford  any  relief  from  the  dreary 
picture  presented  by  its  captors.  Wherever  the  court  had 
passed,  the  peasants,  believing  that  they  must  be  safe  un- 
der the  protection  of  royalty,  from  the  depredations  of  the 
army  which  was  laying  waste  the  neighborhood,  had  driven 
in  their  cattle,  which  soon  died  for  want  of  food,  as  the 
owners  dared  not  trust  them  beyond  the  walls  to  graze  ; 
and  their  animals  once  dead,  they  began  to  die  off'  in  their 
turn ;  for,  having  neither  bread  nor  wine,  and  finding  no 
shelter  save  a  few  sheds,  and  the  wagons  and  carts  which 
encumbered  the  streets,  they  were  attacked  by  malignant 
fever,  and  expired  by  hundreds.  Thus  the  king  was  ex- 
posed to  the  most  frightful  spectacles ;  and  on  one  occa- 
sion, as  he  was  passing  over  the  bridge  of  Melun,  he  came 
upon  a  group  not  readily  to  be  forgotten.  It  was  that  of  a 
woman  and  her  three  children  huddled  closely  together; 
the  mother  and  two  of  the  children  dead,  and  stiffening  in 
the  morning  air,  and  an  infant  still  living,  and  straining 
vainly  at  the  exhausted  breast  which  could  no  longer  afford 
it  sustenance.  The  queen,  who  was  greatly  affected  by 
the  misery  which  she  was  condemned  to  witness,  had  per- 
petually upon  her  lips  the  account  which  would  be  required 
from  God  against  the  authors  of  so  far-spreading  and  terri- 
ble an  evil ;  never  appearing  to  remember  that  it  principal- 
ly originated  with  herself;  but,  by  a  delicate  sophistry 
more  congenial  to  her  sensibility,  transferring  the  crime 
and  the  responsibility  to  those  who  had  thwarted  her  pro- 
jects and  curbed  her  ambition. 

The  royal  forces  suffered  more  than  those  of  the  Fronde 
during  this  siege,  from  the  fact  of  their  not  being  enabled 
to  surround  the  town,  owing  to  the  paucity  of  their  num- 
bers, but  merely  to  open  the  trenches  on  the  Orleans  side. 
To  attack  Etampes  in  circumvallation  would  have  required 
considerably  more  than  the  eight  thousand  men  who  were 
brought  against  it ;  and  the  king's  army  suffered  severely 


430  LOUIS     XIV.      A  N  E 

from  the  vigorous  sorties  made  by  the  enemy.  Among 
those  who  fell  was  the  Chevalier  de  la  Vieuville,  a  brave 
man,  and  a  court  favorite. 

The  young  sovereign  was  present  during  the  whole  of 
the  operations ;  and  the  cardinal  sent  an  order  to  the  be- 
sieged not  to  fire  in  the  direction  of  the  royal  equipage  ; 
an  injunction  which  was  disregarded  as  a  matter  of  course, 
under  the  pretext  that  the  officer  to  whom  it  had  been 
communicated  was  a  foreigner,  and  had  not  comprehend- 
ed the  command. 

A  few  days  after  her  return  to  Paris,  Mademoiselle 
was  informed  that  the  prince  had  proceeded  to  St.  Cloud,  in 
order  to  quarter  some  of  his  troops  there,  and  to  make 
himself  master  of  that  post  as  he  had  already  done  of  Neuil- 
ly ;  but  not  satisfied  with  this  step,  he  advanced  to  St.  De- 
nis, which  he  took  after  a  slight  resistance,  the  garrison 
being  weak,  and  the  town  ill-defended.  He  possessed 
himself  of  this  place  at  daylight,  but  it  was  retaken  by  the 
royal  forces  at  dusk,  despite  the  reinforcement  furnished 
by  the  Duke  de  Beaufort,  who  narrowly  escaped  being 
made  a  prisoner  on  his  retreat  toward  Paris.  Five  hun- 
dred citizens  who  went  to  his  rescue,  were  cut  to  pieces  in 
the  faubourg  St.  Denis,  and  it  was  only  the  advent  of  the 
darkness  that  prevented  still  greater  loss.  A  movement 
upon  Paris  was  forthwith  determined  by  the  king's  gener- 
als, their  strength  having  been  greatly  augmented  by  a 
body  of  troops  which  the  Marshal  La  Ferte  Senectere  had 
brought  up  from  Lorraine  ;  and  the  intention  was  to  attack 
the  forces  of  the  Fronde  which  were  scattered  along  the 
bank  of  the  Seine,  between  Suresne  and  St.  Cloud.  M. 
de  Conde  did  not,  however,  consider  the  position  tenable  ; 
and  he  accordingly  raised  his  camp  during  the  night,  and 
retired  upon  Charenton. 

From  this  period  the  war  of  the  Fronde  may  really  be 
said  to  have  commenced  in  earnest.  The  army  of  the 
prince,  shut  up  in  Paris,  diminished  day  by  day;  and  his 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  431 

power  became  weakened  in  an  equal  proportion.  M.  de 
Turenne,  who  was  aware  of  this  circumstance,  detained 
the  king  and  the  court  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  cap- 
ital, which  he  attacked  with  his  forces,  insufficient  as  they 
were. 

About  half-past  ten  on  the  night  of  the  1st  of  July,  Ma- 
demoiselle hear'd  the  drums  beating,  and  the  trumpets, 
sounding  ;  and  as  her  apartments  were  only  separated  by 
the  moat  from  the  Tuileries,  she  had  no  sooner  opened  a 
window  than  she  could  hear  the  troops  of  the  prince  filing 
off,  and  even  distinguish  the  different  airs  to  which  they 
marched.  She  remained  listening  to  these  ominous  sounds 
until  midnight,  in  deep  thought  and  with  a  vague  presenti- 
ment that  the  following  day  would  prove  an  eventful  one 
to  herself. 

During  this  time  several  persons  came  to  pay  their 
respects  to  her,  and  among  others  M.  de  Flamarin,  of 
whom  she  inquired  if  he  could  guess  the  subject  of  her 
reflections.  On  his  replying  in  the  negative,  she  said  she 
felt  a  conviction  that  on  the  morrow  she  should  be  called 
upon  to  take  as  active  a  part  in  Paris  as  she  had  played 
at  Orleans.  The  idea  amused  De  Flamarin,  who  re- 
marked that  Her  Royal  Highness  would  display  great 
ingenuity  in  discovering  such  an  opportunity,  because 
nothing  remarkable  was  likely  to  occur,  negotiations 
having  taken  place,  which  would  only  render  it  necessaiy 
for  the  armies  to  embrace  when  they  met. 

To  this  conclusion  the  princess,  however,  calmly  and 
firmly  objected  to  concede  any  trust ;  affirming  that  she 
was  aware  of  the  negotiations  to  which  he  alluded,  and 
believed  that  they  were  all  great  dupes  to  suffer  them- 
selves to  be  amused  by  empty  words,  instead  of  render- 
ing their  forces  more  effective ;  as,  during  the  period  of 
their  own  inaction,  it  was  well  known  that  the  cardinal 
had  collected  his  own  troops,  and  had  so  strengthened  his 
position,  that  any  encounter  must  prove  most  disastrous  to 


432  L  U  U  I  rf     XIV.     AND 

the  army  of  the  Fronde.  M.  de  Flamarin  still,  however, 
remaining  incredulous,  Mademoiselle  followed  up  her 
prophecy  by  remarking,  that  it  was  not  impossible  that 
he  who  had  been  one  of  the  negotiators,  upon  whose 
interference  he  placed  such  reliance,  might,  ere  another 
sun  set,  boast  a  limb  the  less ;  but  her  interlocutor  saw 
only  new  cause  for  merriment  in  this  second  specimen 
of  the  princess's  spirit  of  divination ;  and  left  her  with 
a  jest  upon  his  lips,  asserting  that  it  had  already  been 
predicted  that  he  would  die  with  a  rope  about  his  neck. 

At  one  o'clock  Mademoiselle  retired,  but  it  was 
scarcely  six  when  she  heard  some  one  knock  at  her 
door;  and  springing  up,  she  called  her  women,  who 
introduced  into  her  chamber  the  Count  de  Fiesque.  He 
had  been  dispatched  by  M.  de  Conde  to  Monsieur,  to  in- 
form him  that  His  Highness  had  been  attacked  between 
Montmarte  and  La  Chapelle ;  and  that,  as  regarded  him- 
self, he  had  been  refused  entrance  at  the  Porte  St.  Denis, 
which  led  him  to  fear  that  the  prince  would  meet  with 
the  same  impediment  should  he  be  compelled  to  retreat. 
His  errand  accomplished,  he  had  entreated  Monsieur  to 
mount  his  horse,  and  to  satisfy  himself,  by  personal  obser- 
vation, of  the  actual  state  of  things  ;  but  there  was  positive 
danger  abroad ;  and,  whenever  decision  was  required, 
Gaston  was  always  indisposed;  it  was,  therefore,  not 
surprising  that,  on  this  occasion,  especially,  the  prince 
had  refused  to  leave  his  bed,  asserting  that  he  was  seri- 
ously ill ;  and  finding  that  he  could  make  no  impression 
either  upon  the  pride  or  the  self-respect  of  Monsieur,  the 
count  had  now  come  to  Mademoiselle,  to  implore  her,  in 
the  name  of  M.  de  Conde,  not  to  abandon  his  cause.  The 
princess  had  no  such  intention ;  and,  from  a  mingled 
motive  which  it  would  be  scarcely  fair  to  analyze,  when 
we  remember  how  nobly  it  prompted  her  after-actions, 
she  dismissed  M.  de  Fiesque,  with  a  solemn  promise  that 
she  would  serve  the  prince  to  the  whole  extent  of  her 


T  II  E     C  O  U  R  T     U  F      P  Jl  A  X  C  E.  433 

power ;  dressed  herself  in  haste,  and  hurried  to  the 
Luxembourg,  where  she  encountered  Monsieur  upon  the 
steps. 

Delighted  by  such  an  apparition,  Mademoiselle  did 
not  seek  to  conceal  her  joy,  but  expressed  how  truly  glad 
she  was  to  find  that  the  fears  of  M.  de  Fiesque  had  misled 
him  as  regarded  the  health  of  His  Royal  Highness.  It 
was,  however,  no  part  of  Monsieur's  intention  to  resusci- 
tate so  inopportunely ;  and  he  consequently  hastened  to 
moderate  the  self-gratulation  of  the  princess  by  declaring 
that  the  count  was  quite  correct  in  his  report,  for  that, 
although  not  ill  enough  to  keep  his  bed,  he  was  uttei'ly 
unable  to  take  any  part  in  public  business. 

Urged  by  the  emergency  of  the  moment,  and  ex- 
asperated by  the  contemptible  inaction  of  her  father, 
Mademoiselle,  despite  this  assertion,  ventured  to  expos- 
tulate, bidding  him  remember  that  all  Paris  had  their 
eyes  upon  him  at  such  a  conjuncture;  and  that  he  would 
do  well  to  mount  his  horse,  and  to  take  the  lead  in  pro- 
ceedings in  which  his  honor  was  so  deeply  involved. 
This  burst  of  generous  indignation  was,  however,  with- 
out effect  upon  the  dastardly  spirit  of  Gaston,  who  could 
find  no  better  reply  than  that  the  thing  was  impossible, 
that  he  was  too  weak,  and  that  he  did  not  believe 
he  could  walk  a  hundred  yards.  "  Then,  sir,"  said  the 
princess,  urged  beyond  her  patience ;  "  you  will  do  well 
at  once  to  go  to  bed  out  of  sight,  for  the  world  had 
better  believe  that  you  can  not,  than  that  you  will  not, 
leave  it." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  advice  was  good,  but 
the  duke  was  too  egotistical  to  profit  by  it;  and  he  still 
continued  calmly  to  move  about  the  palace,  in  the  midst 
of  his  household,  who  all  appeared  to  be  perfectly  un- 
affected by  the  threatened  danger  from  without;  and  to 
treat  it  with  a  contemptuous  disregard,  which  at  length 
extorted   from    the    princess    the    impatient    remark,   that 

vol.  i. — T 


431  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

she  could  in  no  other  way  account  for  so  ill-timed  and 
ill-omened  an  indifference,  than  by  supposing  that  His 
Royal  Highness  had  a  treaty  in  his  pocket  for  him  and 
his,  bearing  the  signature  of  Mazarin. 

Monsieur  made  no  comment  upon  this  covert  accusa- 
tion, and  Mademoiselle  was  beginning  to  despair  of  her 
mission,  when  Messieurs  de  Rohan  and  de  Chavigny  were 
announced;  who,  instantly  detecting  her  discomfiture,  used 
their  influence,  which  was  considerable  with  the  supine 
prince,  to  permit  his  daughter  to  represent  him  at  the 
the  Town-Hall,  as  she  had  done  at  Orleans ;  to  which  he 
acceded  with  more  feigned  than  actual  reluctance ;  and 
ultimately  gave  M.  de  Rohan  a  letter,  in  which  he  em- 
powered Mademoiselle  to  act  as  his  substitute  with  the 
mayors  and  magistrates. 

Once  possessed  of  this  document  the  princess  hastened 
to  quit  the  Luxembourg  with  the  Countess  de  Fiesque, 
who  was  her  constant  companion  ;  and  in  the  Rue  Dau- 
phine  she  encountered  M.  de  Jarze,  who  was  at  that 
time  in  the  interest  of  the  prince,  by  whom  he  had  been 
dispatched  to  request  the  Duke  d'Orleans  to  give  an 
order  for  the  troops  which  had  been  left  at  Poissy  to 
traverse  the  capital,  as  he  was  in  great  need  of  a  rein- 
forcement, being  furiously  attacked,  and  finding  that  the 
royalist  force  was  three  times  greater  than  his  own.  The 
troops  were  already  awaiting  this  order  at  the  Porte  St. 
Honore  ;  while  the  marquis  had  left  the  field  during  the 
hottest  of  the  fight,  and  had  received  a  ball  in  his  arm, 
which  having  grazed  the  bone  near  the  elbow,  subjected 
him  to  extreme  pain.  Nevertheless,  Mademoiselle  de- 
sired him  to  attend  her  to  the  Town-Hall,  telling  him  that 
it  was  not  to  Monsieur  that  he  must  address  himself,  but  to 
the  governor  of  Paris,  for  whom  she  had  a  letter ;  and  on 
receiving  this  assurance  M.  de  Jarze  did  not  hesitate  to 
obey. 

The  streets  were  full  of  tumultuous  groups :  nearly  all 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  435 

the  citizens  were  armed ;  and  they  had  no  sooner  recog- 
nized the  princess,  whose  exploit  at  Orleans  was  still  fresh 
in  their  minds,  than  they  shouted  to  her  as  she  passed, 
telling  her  that  they  were  ready  to  undertake  whatever 
she  might  command. 

Mademoiselle  replied  with  dignified  affability  to  their 
eager  greeting,  and  informed  them  that,  for  the  moment, 
she  was  simply  about  to  request  the  opinion  of  the  gover- 
nor; but  that  she  entreated  them,  should  their  services 
become  necessary,  not  to  withdraw  from  her  the  confi- 
dence which  they  now  exhibited  in  her  zeal  and  pru- 
dence ;  and  she  asked  it  earnestly,  for  she  was  quite 
aware,  should  the  authorities  refuse  the  demand  which 
she  was  about  to  make,  that  she  should  possess  a  powerful 
resource  in  the  good-will  of  the  populace,  so  long  as  they 
remained  faithful  to  her  interests.  When  she  reached  the 
Town-Hall  the  Marshal  de  l'Hopital,  the  governor  of  Paris, 
and  the  councilor  Lefevre,  provost  of  the  merchants,  ad- 
vanced to  the  top  of  the  steps  to  meet  her,  apologizing  for 
any  failure  in  etiquet,  not  having  been  apprised  in  time 
of  her  approach.  Mademoiselle  thanked  them  for  their 
courtesy,  and  told  them  that  Monsieur,  being  indisposed, 
had  sent  her  to  them  as  his  representative;  requesting 
them  to  follow  her  to  the  council-chamber,  to  which  they 
assented  without  difficulty.  There  M.  de  Rohan  presented 
to  them  the  letter  of  His  Royal  Highness ;  and  when  it  had 
been  read  by  the  registrar,  and  they  had  ascertained  that 
it  invested  the  princess  with  unlimited  powers,  they  asked 
what  she  wished  from  them. 

"I  desire  three  things,"  replied  Mademoiselle  firmly; 
"  the  first  is,  that  all  the  citizens  shall  be  called  upon  to 
take  up  arms." 

"  That  is  already  done,"  replied  the  marshal. 

"  Secondly,  that  two  thousand  of  these  citizens  shall 
be  detached,  and  marched  to  join  the  forces  of  M.  de 
Conde." 


436  Louis    x  i  v.    a  x  d 

"  That  will  be  more  difficult,"  -  observed  the  marshal 
once  more ;  "  citizens  can  not  be  detached  like  regular 
troops ;  but  be  under  no  uneasiness,  we  will  send  two 
thousand  men  to  the  prince  from  the  forces  of  His  Royal 
Highness." 

"  Thirdly,"  pursued  Mademoiselle,  who  had  judi- 
ciously reserved  her  most  important  demand  to  the  last, 
"  that  the  army  shall  be  allowed  free  passage  through 
the  capital,  from  the  gate  of  St.  Honore  to  that  of  St. 
Denis,  or  St.  Antoine." 

This  requisition  produced  precisely  the  effect  for  which 
the  princess  had  prepared  herself.  The  marshal,  the 
provost,  and  the  other  members  of  the  council  looked  at 
each  other  in  silence  ;  but  Mademoiselle,  aware  that  dur- 
ing all  this  delay  M.  de  Conde  was  engaged  with  a  supe- 
rior force,  and  that  every  thing  depended  upon  the  measure 
she  had  urged,  unhesitatingly  returned  to  the  charge. 

"  Gentlemen,"  she  said,  in  a  calm  and  authoritative 
tone,  "  it  appears  to  me  that  this  is  no  subject  for  your 
deliberation.  His  Royal  Highness  has  always  been  so 
firm  a  friend  to  the  city  of  Paris,  that  it  is  merely  just, 
on  an  occasion  when  his  preservation  and  that  of  M.  de 
Conde  depend  upon  your  decision,  that  you  should  testify 
some  gratitude  for  all  his  benefits.  Moreover,  you  may 
be  convinced,  gentlemen,  that  the  cardinal  has  returned 
to  France  with  the  most  hostile  intentions ;  and  that 
should  the  prince  be  defeated,  there  will  be  no  quarter 
for  those  who  have  proscribed  the  minister,  and  set  a 
price  upon  his  head ;  nor  even  for  Paris  itself,  which 
will,  without  doubt,  be  put  to  fire  and  sword.  It  there- 
fore remains  for  us  to  evade  so  terrible  a  misfortune ;  and 
we  can  not  render  a  greater  service  to  the  king,  than  by 
preserving  for  him  the  most  magnificent  city  of  his  king- 
dom, the  capital  of  his  country,  and  a  population  which 
has  ever  exhibited  the  greatest  loyalty  and  devotion  to  its 
monarchs." 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  437 

"  But,  Mademoiselle  ;"  objected  the  marshal,  "  re 
member,  that  if  our  own  troops  had  not  approached  the 
capital,  neither  would  those  of  the  crown  have  done  so." 

"  I  only  remember,  sir,"  replied  the  princess,  in  an 
accent  of  proud  rebuke,  "  that  while  we  amuse  our- 
selves by  idle  argument,  M.  de  Conde  is  in  danger  in 
your  very  faubourgs;  and  that  it  will  be  an  eternal  grief 
and  disgrace  for  Paris,  if  he  should  perish  there  for  want 
of  assistance.  You  can  help  him,  gentlemen  ;  do  so,  there- 
fore, and  forthwith." 

Her  spirited  remonstrance  produced  its  effect :  the 
council  rose,  and  retired  to  deliberate  ;  while  Mademoi- 
selle, agitated  by  exertion  and  anxiety,  knelt  down  in 
the  bay  of  a  window,  to  pray  for  the  success  of  her 
undertaking.  Before  the  close  of  the  deliberations  she, 
however,  became  impatient,  for  she  knew  the  value  of  the 
time  which  was  so  weakly  lost  in  inaction  ;  when,  as  she 
was  rapidly  pacing  to  and  fro  the  hall,  inventing  and 
rejecting  a  score  of  expedients  in  the  event  of  a  failure 
with  the  council,  the  members  at  length  reappeared ; 
and  the  Marshal  de  l'Hopital  announced  to  her  that  him- 
self and  his  colleagues  were  prepared  to  obey  whatever 
order  she  miofht  think  fit  to  issue. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Battle  of  the  Porte  St.  Antoine — Mademoiselle  turns  the  Cannon  of  the 
Bastille  against  the  Royal  Forces — Retreat  of  the  King's  Army — Ac- 
knowledgments of  Conde  to  Mademoiselle  ;  her  Suspicions  of  Conde 
— Flight  of  the  Court  to  St.  Denis — Meeting  at  the  Town-Hall — Ex- 
traordinary Party  Badge — New  Dilemma  of  Monsieur — Project  of  a 
Union — Attack  on  the  Town-Hall — The  Provost  of  the  Merchants — 
Removal  of  the  Court  to  Pontoise — Monsieur  declared  Lieutenant- 
general  of  the  Kingdom  by  the  Parliament ;  his  Want  of  Authority 
in  the  Capital. 

Not  another  moment  was  wasted.  De  Jarze  hastened 
to  return  to  the  prince,  to  inform  him  that  the  troops  were 
to  be  allowed  to  enter  the  city ;  while  at  the  same  time 
the  Marquis  de  la  Boulaie  went  at  all  speed  to  cause  the 
Porte  St.  Honore  to  be  opened  to  those  who  were  awaiting 
ingress  from   Poissy.     Meanwhile,  hostilities  had  already 


LOUIS  XIV.  AND  THE  COURT  OF  FRANCE.   439 

commenced  in  the  faubourgs,  and  the  report  of  artillery  re- 
sounded through  the  streets  of  Paris.  Mademoiselle  felt 
that  the  die  was  now  cast,  and  was  naturally  anxious  as  to 
the  issue.  She  consequently  determined  upon  going  to 
judge  for  herself  of  the  progress  of  affairs  ;  and  accordingly 
left  the  Town-Hall,  and  turned  in  the  direction  of  the  Porte 
St.  Antoine,  attended  by  the  Marshal  de  l'Hopital,  who 
was  not,  however,  destined  long  to  swell  her  suite ;  for,  as 
she  descended  the  steps,  a  man  approached,  and  pointing 
to  him  with  his  finger,  asked  the  princess  how  she  could 
permit  that  Mazarinite  to  follow  her,  adding  that  if  she 
were  not  satisfied  with  his  conduct  she  had  only  to  say  so, 
and  they  would  drown  him.  Mademoiselle  replied  that, 
so  far  from  desiring  any  thing  of  the  kind,  she  had  every 
reason  to  be  extremely  satisfied,  the  marshal  having  acceded 
to  all  her  requests.  "  In  that  case,"  was  the  retort,  "  all's 
right ;  let  him  go  back  to  the  Town-Hall,  and  be  careful  to 
walk  upright."  M.  de  l'Hopital  awaited  no  second  bid- 
ding; but,  having  respectfully  saluted  the  princess,  rapidly 
retraced  his  steps,  while  she  pursued  her  way  undauntedly 
toward  the  barrier.* 

Nor  did  this  perseverance  exact  a  slight  degree  of  cour- 
age when  the  supineness  of  those  who  should  have  been 
the  most  active  is  calmly  considered.  The  prince,  despite 
his  numerical  inferiority,  tenaciously  maintained  his  ground  ; 
and  Turenne  attacked  him  with  the  additional  stimulus  of 
emulation.  The  Duke  d'Orleans  had  shut  himself  up  in 
his  palace,  and  the  Cardinal  de  Retz  had  followed  his  ex- 
ample ;  while  the  parliament  remained  neutral  and  passive, 
awaiting  the  termination  of  the  combat  before  they  ven- 
tured to  fulminate  their  decrees.  The  populace,  taking 
the  tone  from  those  who  should  have  been  their  leaders, 
and  being  equally  terrified  at  the  incursion  of  either  party, 
had  closed  the  gates  of  the  city,  and  would  not  suffer  any 
individual,  whatever  might  be  his  rank,  to  pass  in  or  out. 
*   Louis  XIV.  ct  sod  Sidcle. 


440  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

On  reaching  the  Rue  cle  la  Tixeranderie  the  princess  was 
subjected  to  a  frightful  spectacle.  The  Duke  de  la  Roche- 
foucauld had  just  been  struck  in  the  face  by  a  musket- 
ball,  which  had  entered  the  corner  of  his  right  eye,  and 
escaped  through  the  left,  so  that  his  eyeballs  appeared  to  be 
dropping  from  their  sockets,  and  the  whole  of  his  features 
were  deluged  with  blood.  His  son  supported  him  with  one 
hand,  and  M.  de  Gourville,  one  of  his  most  attached  friends, 
by  the  other ;  for  he  was  deprived  of  sight.  He  was  still  on 
horseback  ;  but  his  white  vest  was  so  saturated  with  blood, 
as  well  as  those  of  his  supporters,  that  the  original  color  of 
their  attire  could  not  be  distinguished. 

Mademoiselle  approached  the  wretched  group,  to  as- 
sure the  duke  of  her  regret  and  sympathy;  but  while 
the  young  Prince  de  Marsillac  and  M.  de  Gourville  an- 
swered her  with  their  tears,  the  wounded  man  remained 
impassive,  his  sense  of  hearing  having  failed  beneath  the 
shock.  She  therefore  left  them  to  pursue  their  melancholy 
way,  and  was  endeavoring  to  shake  off  the  sentiment  of 
horror  which  had  taken  possession  of  her,  when,  at  the 
entrance  of  the  Rue  St.  Antoine,  she  encountered  M.  de 
Guitaut,  pale  and  sinking,  with  his  vest  thrown  open,  and 
supported  by  a  soldier,  who  had  great  difficulty  in  enabling 
him  to  escape  from  the  scene  of  carnage.  The  dialogue 
which  ensued  is  characteristic. 

"Ha!  my  poor  Guitaut,"  exclaimed  the  princess- 
"  what  is  the  matter  ]  what  has  happened  to  you  V 

"  A  ball  through  my  body,"  was  the  reply. 

"  Is  the  wound  fatal  1" 

"  I  think  not." 

"  Keep  up  your  spirits  then."  And  once  more  Made- 
moiselle passed  on. 

The  next  victim  whom  she  encountered  was  M.  de  Va- 
Ion,  who  had  accompanied  her  in  her  expedition  to  Or- 
leans; he  was  badly  wounded,  and  utterly  disheartened. 
"Ah,  Madam,"  he  gasped  out  as  she  drew  near,  "  we  are  lost !" 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  44 1 

"By  no  means,"  said  Mademoiselle;  "we  are  saved. 
I  command  in  Paris  to-day,  as  I  commanded  at  Orleans." 

"  There  is  still  a  hope  then,"  murmured  the  stricken 
soldier;   "  all  may  yet  be  retrieved." 

This  confidence  augmented  the  ardor  of  the  princess ; 
and  she  approached  the  barrier  surrounded  by  the  wound- 
ed, whom  their  comrades  were  removing  in  every  direction. 
On  all  sides  she  heard  the  eulogy  of  M.  de  Conde,  who 
was  declared  to  have  exceeded  all  his  former  feats.  He 
appeared  to  be  gifted  with  ubiquity,  and  his  perpetual 
presence  sustained  the  courage  of  the  troops. 

Mademoiselle  lost  no  time  in  giving  an  order  to  the 
captain  of  the  guard  to  permit  the  free  passage  of  the 
prince  and  his  adherents ;  and  having  done  this,  she 
entered  a  house  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the 
Bastille,  whence  she  could  command  all  that  passed  in  the 
street.  She  had  scarcely  seated  herself  when  M.  de  Conde 
paid  her  a  visit.  He  was  covered  with  dust  and  blood,  his 
hair  matted,  his  cuirass  battered  with  blows,  and  he  carried 
his  naked  sword  in  his  hand,  having  lost  the  scabbard.  As 
he  approached  the  princess,  he  put  his  weapon  into  the 
hand  of  her  equerry,  and  exclaimed,  despondingly,  that  he 
was  wretched  ;  that  he  had  lost  all  his  friends  ;  for  that  the 
Duke  de  Nemours,  the  Duke  de  la  Rochefoucauld,  and 
M.  de  Clinchamp  were  fatally  wounded. 

Mademoiselle  assured  him  that  he  exaggerated  the  evil ; 
for  that,  although  grievously  hurt,  there  was  no  fear  for 
their  lives.  The  surgeon  had  already  answered  for  the 
safety  of  M.  de  Clinchamp  ;  M.  de  la  Rochefoucauld  was 
by  no  means  beyond  hope ;  while  M.  de  Nemours  was 
still  less  injured  than  either  of  the  others. 

Although  greatly  comforted  by  this  assurance,  M.  de 
Conde,  nevertheless,  could  not  suppress  his  grief;  but  with 
a  brief  apology,  he  threw  himself  upon  a  seat;  and  there 
the  hero  of  a  dozen  victories,  covered  as  he  was  with 
the  blood  of  his  enemies,  and  surrounded   by  the  plaudits 


442  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

of  his  troops,  gave  a  free  loose  to  his  emotion  :  the  war- 
rior was  forgotten,  while  "  the  strong  man  wept." 

The  weakness  was,  however,  only  momentary;  and 
rousing  himself  by  a  powerful  effort,  he  requested  that 
the  princess  would  give  an  order  for  the  admission  of  the 
baggage  which  was  outside  the  gates,  and  consent  to  re- 
main where  she  then  was,  that  he  might  know  where  to 
find  her  on  any  new  emergency,  as  he  could  not  spare 
another  moment  from  the  troops. 

Mademoiselle  urged  him  to  retire  with  all  his  force 
into  the  city ;  but  he  firmly  refused  to  do  so,  declaring 
that  he  would  rather  perish  than  retreat  before  the  army 
of  Mazarin  ;  while  she  need  feel  no  uneasiness  for  her 
friends,  as  he  should  henceforth  confine  himself  to  mere 
skirmishing  ;  and  pledged  himself  that  he  would  march  all 
the  troops  of  Monsieur  in  safety  into  the  capital.  He  then 
reclaimed  his  sword ;  and  having  taken  leave  of  the  prin- 
cess, sprung  upon  a  fresh  horse  and  galloped  off. 

His  presence  had  become  requisite,  for  the  battle  was 
raging  more  fiercely  than  ever.  The  royal  army  had  at- 
tacked simultaneously  the  gate  of  St.  Denis  and  the  fau- 
bourg St.  Antoine.  M.  de  Conde  inquired  where  the 
Marshal  de  Turenne  was  acting;  and  upon  being  told 
that  he  commanded  the  attack  in  the  faubourg,  he  instantly 
hastened  in  that  direction,  considering  that  the  hottest  of 
the  fight  must  necessarily  take  place  upon  that  spot,  while 
he  satisfied  himself  by  sending  some  cavalry  to  the  barrier. 
His  judgment  proved  to  be  correct,  for  M.  de  Turenne 
was  advancing-  with  his  whole  strength  on  that  side,  the 
other  demonstration  having  simply  been  a  feint.  The 
royal  force  amounted  to  between  ten  and  eleven  thousand 
men,  while  the  troops  of  M.  de  Conde  did  not  exceed  five 
thousand  ;  and  he  consequently  commenced  his  operations 
by  barricading  himself  as  well  as  he  could  in  the  principal 
street  within  sight  of  the  enemy,  detaching  a  portion  of 
his  men  to  guard  all  the  lateral  avenues.     This  done,  he 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  443 

no  longer  remembered  the  promise  which  he  had  so  lately 
given  to  Mademoiselle  ;  and  a  most  fearful  engagement 
took  place,  in  which  those  who  followed  his  movements 
declared  that  his  exploits  were  almost  superhuman. 

He  was  suddenly  informed  that  the  enemy  had  forced 
the  strong  barricade  of  Picpus ;  that  the  infantry  had  be- 
haved admirably,  but  that  the  cavalry  had  been  seized 
with  a  fearful  panic,  and  had  fled  in  such  disorder  that 
they  had  swept  back  with  them  all  they  encountered  on 
their  way.  M.  de  Conde  accordingly  placed  himself  at 
the  head  of  a  hundred  musketeers,  and  rallying  around 
him  all  the  officers  whom  he  could  collect,  and  a  few  vol- 
unteers, made  a  rush  upon  the  barricade,  which  he  retook, 
and  drove  the  enemy  (consisting  of  four  regiments)  before 
him  like  a  cloud  of  dust. 

Mademoiselle  meanwhile  retained  her  post,  where  she 
was  joined  by  the  President  Viole,  who  assured  her  that 
Monsieur  had  entered  into  a  treaty  with  the  court,  and 
that  it  was  this  circumstance  which  had  induced  him  to 
remain  passive.  The  indignation  of  the  princess  was  ex- 
treme, and  she  immediately  repeated  the  report  to  the 
Count  de  Fiesque,  and  the  Duchess  de  Chatillon ;  re- 
proaching the  latter  with  the  part  which  she  had  taken 
in  the  affair,  and  declaring  that,  for  so  clever  a  woman, 
she  must  be  "  easily  misled  if  she  suffered  herself  to  be 
deluded  by  so  absurd  a  rumor;"  adding,  that  she  sin- 
cerely believed,  should  Monsictir  discover  its  authors,  he 
would  throw  them  all  out  of  the  window.  That  she 
regretted,  as  much  as  the  duchess  herself  could  do,  that 
His  Royal  Highness  had  not  made  himself  more  promi- 
nent, a  step  which  she  had  strongly  urged  him  to  take ; 
but  it  was  not,  therefore,  to  be  inferred,  that  he  had 
played  M.  de  Conde  false ;  as  he  was  incapable  of  such 
treachery.*  This  reproof  silenced  Madame  de  Chatillon  ; 
although  it  failed  to  convince  the  bystanders  of  the  accu- 
*  Memoire.s  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensicr. 


444  LOUIS     XIV.     A  N  D 

racy  of  the  judgment  which  Mademoiselle  had  formed 
of  the  motives  and  principles  of  her  father. 

The  princess  had  already  dispatched  an  accredited 
messenger  to  the  Bastille,  to  demand  the  intention  of  the 
governor;  and  this  functionary,  who  was  no  other  than 
M.  de  Louviers,  the  son  of  M.  de  Broussel,  replied,  that 
if  he  were  authorized  so  to  do  by  an  order  from  Mon- 
sieur, he  would  obey  whatever  commands  she  might  give. 
Mademoiselle  accordingly  sent  to  the  Count  de  Bethune 
to  make  this  communication  to  the  Duke  d'Orleans,  who 
forwarded  the  required  order  by  the  Prince  de  Guimene  ; 
while,  on  his  return,  M.  de  Bethune  announced  to  the 
princess  that  Monsieur  was  about  to  join  her;  a  piece 
of  intelligence  which  she  immediately  communicated  to 
M.  de  Conde,  who  very  shortly  afterward  arrived.  He 
was  still  in  the  same  disordered  attire  in  which  she  had 
previously  seen  him,  but  his  depression  was  at  an  end, 
and  he  entered  the  apartment  with  a  smile  upon  his  lips. 
The  first  care  of  Mademoiselle  was  to  prevail  upon  him 
not  to  reproach  her  father  with  the  equivocal  part  which 
he  had  played  throughout  the  day ;  which,  after  some 
difficulty,  he  conceded.  Monsieur  subsequently  arrived 
in  his  turn,  and  met  the  prince  as  cheerfully  as  though 
nothing  extraordinary  had  occurred,  and  that  his  own 
bearing  had  been  immaculate.  He  then  congratulated 
him  upon  his  prowess,  and  asked  a  number  of  questions 
relating  to  the  engagement ;  after  which  he  digressed  to 
the  dead  and  wounded,  for  whom  he  expressed  much 
sympathy.  Finally,  it  was  resolved  between  himself  and 
M.  de  Conde  that  the  army  should  retire  within  the  walls 
at  nightfall ;  and  then  Monsieur  proceeded  to  the  Town- 
Hall,  to  offer  his  acknowledgments  to  the  corporate 
bodies ;   and  the  prince  returned  to  the  troops. 

They  had  no  sooner  taken  leave  than  Mademoiselle 
resolved  to  repair  in  person  to  the  Bastille,  which  she  had 
never  previously  visited  ;    and  this  done,  she  ascended  to 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  445 

the  towers,  whence,  by  means  of  a  telescope,  she  distin- 
guished a  great  number  of  people  collected  on  the  heights 
of  Charon ne,  as  well  as  horses  and  carriages,  when  it  in- 
stantly struck  her  that  the  king  was  there  in  person,  as 
was  indeed  the  fact.  Toward  Bagnolet,  in  the  valley,  she 
could  also  see  the  royal  army  preparing  for  a  new  attack, 
and  recognize  the  staff  of  the  different  general  officers. 
As  she  continued  anxiously  to  watch  their  movements, 
she  observed  them  detach  a  strong  body  of  their  cavalry 
to  intercept  the  communication  between  the  faubourg  and 
the  moat ;  which,  had  they  done  it  at  an  earlier  period, 
must  at  once  have  decided  the  issue  of  the  struggle;  while, 
as  she  foresaw  that  even  were  it  now  accomplished  it  must 
create  considerable  annoyance  to  their  own  troops,  she 
forthwith  dispatched  a  page  to  M.  de  Conde,  to  inform 
him  of  the  manceuver.  Her  messenger  found  him  on  the 
top  of  the  belfry  of  the  abbey  of  St.  Antoine,  where,  profit- 
ing by  a  moinentary  respite,  he  was  also  busy  in  reconnoi- 
tering  the  besieging  forces ;  and  finding  his  own  observa- 
tions confirmed  by  those  of  the  princess,  he  sent  an  order 
for  all  his  troops  to  march  forthwith  into  the  city.  On  the 
return  of  her  page  with  these  tidings,  Mademoiselle  com- 
manded the  cannon  of  the  fortress  to  be  pointed  in  the 
direction  of  the  royal  army,  and  gave  stringent  orders  that, 
should  the  measure  become  essential,  they  should  be  dis- 
charged without  hesitation. 

Having  done  this,  without  paying  the  slightest  attention 
to  the  consternation  created  by  her  words,  she  left  the  Bas- 
tille and  returned  to  the  house  of  which  she  had  previously 
taken  possession,  in  order  that  she  might  see  the  troops 
march  in.  Terror  had  spread  through  the  ranks,  as  nei- 
ther officers  nor  men  expected  any  quarter ;  but  when  they 
found  that  Mademoiselle  was  at  the  gate,  they  raised  a 
shout  of  joy,  declaring  that  they  would  fight  to  the  last; 
knowing  that  should  they  eventually  be  compelled  to  give 
wav,  their  retreat  was  assured,  for  that  she  would  never 


44G  LOUIS    XIV.     AND 

suffer  the  barrier  to  remain  closed  against  them  when  they 
had  no  longer  any  hope  of  success.  At  the  same  moment 
M.  de  Conde  sent  to  request  that  the  princess  would  cause 
some  wine  to  be  distributed,  which  she  did  without  loss  of 
time  ;  and  as  the  troops  passed  under  the  window  at  which 
she  stood,  they  hailed  her  with  hearty  acclamations. 

Meanwhile  the  situation  of  the  prince  himself  was  peril- 
ous in  the  extreme.  Hotly  pursued  by  the  forces  of  M.  de 
Turenne,  the  number  who  fell  on  all  sides  during  this  re- 
treat was  frightful ;  and  as  the  royalist  army  had,  more- 
over, been  reinforced  by  the  division  under  the  Marshal  de 
la  Ferte-Senectere,  the  ranks  of  the  Fronde  tottered  on 
every  side ;  the  musketry  resounded  within  a  thousand 
paces  of  the  house  in  which  Mademoiselle  was  keeping 
her  anxious  watch,  and  for  an  instant  the  prince  was  com- 
pelled to  give  way,  and  was  in  the  most  imminent  peril. 
With  his  back  against  the  outworks,  and  contending  with 
those  by  whom  he  was  opposed  with  an  energy  which  was 
rapidly  exhausting  his  strength,  in  order  to  give  his  men 
time  to  retreat  to  the  barrier,  M.  de  Conde  was  about  to  be 
overwhelmed  by  a  force  that  quadrupled  his  own ;  when 
the  summit  of  the  Bastille  suddenly  flamed  out,  the  cannon 
were  discharged  in  rapid  succession,  and  the  ranks  of  the 
royalists  tottered,  swayed,  and  retreated  in  bewilderment. 

Mademoiselle  had  decided  the  fortune  of  the  fight; 
and  had  just,  to  use  the  words  of  Mazarin,  "  killed  her 
royal  husband  with  the  ordnance  of  the  Bastille."  It  is 
certain  that  the  heroism  of  the  princess  upon  this  occasion 
outweighed  her  policy  ;  for  neither  Louis  nor  those  about 
him  were  ever  likely  to  forgive  so  bold  an  act  of  disloyalty. 

So  vigorous  a  measure,  meanwhile,  saved  M.  de  Conde. 
The  royalists,  totally  unprepared  for  such  a  demonstration 
of  what  they  necessarily  considered  as  the  popular  feeling, 
halted  in  a  state  of  helpless  indecision  ;  during  which  the 
prince  rallied  his  troops,  made  a  charge,  and  repulsed  M. 
de  Turenne;  thus  effecting  his  retreat  with  safety.      The 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  447 

blow  was  terrible  to  tbe  court  party,  which  had  felt  so  sure 
of  success,  that  the  queen,  who  had  remained  at  St.  Denis, 
sent  forward  a  carriage  to  bring  back  M.  de  Conde  a  pris- 
oner ;  and  as  the  cardinal  had  friends  in  the  city  who  for- 
warded to  him  intelligence  of  all  that  occurred,  he  no  soon- 
er heard  the  cannon  of  the  Bastille  than  he  exclaimed,  joy- 
fully, "Admirable  !  there  are  the  guns  of  the  fortress  firing 
upon  the  prince  !" 

Some  one  ventured  to  suggest  that  the  attack  might 
probably  be  upon  their  own  troops ;  and  this  remark  was 
followed  up  by  another  still  more  pertinent,  namely,  that 
Mademoiselle  had  arrived  at  the  Bastille,  and  that  the 
governor  was  firing  a  salute.  The  Marshal  de  Villeroy, 
who  overheard  the  words,  saw  the  truth  at  a  glance  ;  and, 
shaking  his  head,  said,  gravely,  "  If  your  judgment  be  cor- 
rect, and  that  Mademoiselle  is  indeed  at  the  Bastille,  I 
know  her  well  enough  to  be  convinced  that  the  salute,  such 
as  it  is,  has  been  fired  by  her  own  hand." 

An  hour  subsequently  this  was  found  to  be  the  case, 
and  the  queen  vowed  an  eternal  enmity  to  the  belligerent 
princess. 

The  loss  to  the  royalist  army  was  considerable,  especially 
as  regarded  the  rank  of  the  individuals.  M.  de  St.  Mesgrin, 
lieutenant-general,  and  second  in  command  of  the  light 
cavalry,  was  killed  ;  as  was  also  the  Marquis  de  Nantouillet. 
M.  de  Fouilloux,  an  ensign  in  the  guards,  and  one  of  the 
favorites  of  the  young  king,  fell  by  the  hand  of  the  prince 
himself;  and  Paul  de  Mancini,  the  nephew  of  the  cardinal, 
an  amiable  youth  of  sixteen,  full  of  the  most  brilliant  prom- 
ise, was  wounded  at  the  head  of  his  regiment,  and  died 
shortly  afterward.  When  the  prince  had  seen  the  rear  of 
his  troops  safely  within  the  barrier,  he  entered  in  his  turn  ; 
and  the  gates  once  more  closed,  he  hurried  to  make  his 
acknowledgments  to  Mademoiselle  for  her  bold  and  well- 
timed  assistance  ;  who,  in  reply  to  his  compliment,  remark- 
ed  upon  the  admirable  appearance  of  his  troops,  Baying 


448  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

that  she  saw  little  difference  between  them  when  at 
Etampes,  and  now  that  they  had  just  sustained  a  siege  and 
two  serious  engagements ;  terminating  her  eulogy  by  ex- 
exclaiming,  "  God  preserve  them  after  these  perils  from 
those  of  a  negotiation  !" 

M.  de  Conde  flushed,  and  remained  silent,  which  more 
than  satisfied  the  princess  that  she  had  driven  the  arrow 
home ;  for  she  had  already  been  long  enough  involved  in 
faction  to  discover  that  scarcely  one  individual  with  whom 
she  was  brought  into  contact  was  exempt  from  intrigue  or 
double-dealing  of  some  description  ;  but  feeling  that  the 
pause  which  ensued  must  be  painful  to  the  prince,  while  it 
was  impolitic  as  regarded  her  own  interests,  she  hastened 
to  add  that  she  trusted  he  would  at  least  pledge  himself  to 
her  that  there  should  be  no  more  secret  treaties.  This  he 
readily  promised,  and  with  apparent  good  faith.* 

Mademoiselle  then  inquired  for  the  Marquis  de  Flama- 
rin,  whom  she  had  not  seen  since  the  morning,  and  learned 
with  extreme  sorrow  that  he  was  missing,  and  that  all  his 
friends  were  ignorant  of  his  fate.  As  the  princess  was 
sincerely  attached  to  him,  and  had  not  forgotten  the  serv- 
ices which  he  rendered  to  her  at  Orleans,  she  dispatched 
a  number  of  her  attendants  to  obtain  tidings,  and,  after 
great  exertions,  his  body  was  found  pierced  by  a  ball.  By 
an  extraordinary  coincidence,  for  which  it  was  impossible 
to  account,  he  had  a  rope  about  his  neck ;  and  thus  the 
prophecy,  which  had  turned  to  a  jest  upon  his  lips  when 
he  took  leave  of  Mademoiselle,  had  met  with  a  mysterious 
accomplish  ment.t 

The  populace  of  Paris  were  indefatigable.  They  carri- 
ed away  the  dead,  and  buried  them;  they  gave  wine  to  the 
soldiers  who  remained  under  arms,  and  refreshment  and 
help  to  the  wounded  ;  exerting  themselves  with  all  their 
energy,  and  shouting  continually,  "  Long  live  the  king,  and 

*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 
t  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


THE     COURT     OF     F  R  A  N  C  E.  449 

no  Mazarin  !"  The  cardinal  had  no  sooner  ascertained 
that  the  troops  of  the  Fronde  had  reentered  Paris  in  tri- 
umph than  he  carried  off  the  sovereign  to  St.  Denis ;  hut 
even  this  flight  was  not  effected  without  considerable  panic; 
and  the  court  party  did  not  reach  their  destination  until 
midnight,  after  many  false  alarms,  and  having  several  times 
halted  and  prepared  to  oppose  an  imagined  enemy  in  pur- 
suit. Nothing  of  the  kind  was,  however,  attempted,  the. 
troops  of  M.  de  Conde  being  overwhelmed  with  fatigue. 

The  prince  was  now  in  possession  of  the  capital,  which, 
singularly  enough,  he  had  secured  by  a  retreat;  but, 
although  his  military  position  was  undeniable,  he  had  as 
yet  attained  no  civil  authority,  which  was  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  enable  him  to  retain  the  power  he  had  acquired. 
It  was,  consequently,  determined  that  a  general  assembly 
should  be  held  at  the  Town-Hall,  at  which  the  civic  digni- 
taries  should  be  invited  to  delegate  a  portion  of  their  au- 
thority to  Monsieur  and  himself;  and  that  a  union  should 
be  formed  between  the  two  princes  and  the  pailiament. 
The  attempt  was  hazardous,  but  they  had  no  alternative, 
as  money  was  required  to  pay  the  troops  and  to  make  new 
levies.  The  assembly  was  therefore  appointed  for  the  4th 
of  July ;  and,  in  order  to  recognize  his  own  followers  in 
the  crowd,  M.  de  Conde  desired  each  of  them  to  attach  a 
few  straws  to  his  hat. 

The  populace,  attracted  by  this  singular  decoration,  im- 
mediately adopted  it  in  their  turn,  believing  it  to  be  the 
symbol  of  the  faction  ;  and  their  zeal  was  so  great  that 
while  the  men,  in  imitation  of  the  troops,  affixed  it  to  their 
hats,  the  women  adopted  it  as  a  shoulder-knot ;  and  in  a 
couple  of  hours  every  one  who  appeared  in  the  streets 
without  this  appendage  was  assailed  by  cries  of  "  The 
straw!  the  straw!"  and  where  any  were  impolitic  enough 
to  resist  the  popular  clamor,  they  were  unsparingly  beaten 
by  the  mob. 

This  demonstration  was  sufficient  to  overthrow  the  mi- 


450  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

certain  courage  of  Monsieur ;  and,  accordingly,  when  the 
hour  of  council  arrived,  he  began  to  be  indisposed,  and 
furious  against  M.  de  Conde,  who  urged  him  to  fulfill  his 
promise.  He  declared  he  would  do  nothing  of  the  sort,  for 
that  this  device  of  the  straw  was  quite  sufficient  to  occasion 
a  riot.  The  prince,  in  despair  at  this  pusillanimity,  ad- 
dressed himself  to  Mademoiselle,  assuring  her  that  it  was 
■  absolutely  necessary  to  the  safety  of  the  faction  that  His 
Royal  Highness  should  show  himself  at  the  Town-Hall ; 
and  that,  if  he  pei'severed  in  his  refusal,  he  could  not  an- 
swer for  the  consequences.  All  remonstrances,  neverthe- 
less, proved  useless  for  a  considerable  time,  and  he  was 
evidently  ill  disposed  to  M.  de  Conde  ;  but  suddenly,  at  the 
eleventh  hour,  he  determined  on  attending  the  meeting 
which  had  been  fixed  for  two  o'clock,  probably  remember- 
ing that  his  own  interests  were  more  deeply  involved  in 
the  measures  which  might  be  adopted  than  those  of  any 
other  individual  in  the  capital,  and  that  they  would,  be- 
yond all  doubt,  suffer  from  his  absence.  As  he  proceeded 
through  the  city  he  gradually  regained  his  courage,  for  he 
soon  perceived  that  every  one  was  provided  with  a  bunch 
of  straw  ;  and  that  even  Mademoiselle,  whom  he  encoun- 
tered by  the  way,  had  a  similar  decoration  attached  to  her 
fan  by  a  bow  of  blue  ribbon,  which  was  the  party  color. 
He  had  lingered  so  long  that  the  streets  were  choked  by 
the  mob,  and  he  had  great  difficulty  in  advancing;  while 
the  whole  of  the  populace  were  in  a  state  of  excitement, 
and  were  uttering  fierce  threats  against  the  Marshal  de 
l'Hopital,  and  the  provost  of  the  merchants,  whom  they 
loudly  qualified  as  Mazarinites,  and  overwhelmed  with 
threatening  and  insult. 

When  Monsieur  and  the  prince  arrived,  the  chamber  at 
once  proceeded  to  business,  and  the  meeting  was  opened 
by  reading  a  letter  from  the  king,  which  had  just  been 
received,  and  which  demanded  that  the  assembly  should 
be  delayed  for  the  space  of  eight  days.     It  was,  however, 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  451 

unanimously  rejected,  and  at  once  laid  aside.  His  Royal 
Highness  and  M.  de  Conde  then  made  their  acknowledg- 
ments to  the  meeting  for  the  assistance  which  had  been 
afforded  to  them  by  the  city  of  Paris  at  the  engagement 
of  the  Porte  St.  Antoine,  but  both  carefully  avoided  all 
reference  to  their  anticipations  for  the  future.  Monsieur 
expected  his  full  recognition  as  lieutenant-general  of  the 
kingdom,  which  had  already  been  accorded  to  him  by  the 
parliament;  as  well  as  unlimited  authority  to  issue  such 
orders  as  he  might  deem  expedient,  by  virtue  of  the  power 
vested  in  him  by  the  king,  so  long  as  His  Majesty  should 
remain  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  Mazarin  ;  declared  to  be 
the  enemy  of  the  state,  and  the  disturber  of  the  public 
peace,  to  be  banished  forever  from  the  soil  of  France,  and 
to  have  a  price  set  upon  his  head,  by  a  deci'ee  of  parlia- 
ment ;  which  decree  had  since  been  confirmed  by  the  king 
himself;  while  M.  de  Conde,  also  conformably  to  the  dec- 
laration of  parliament,  looked  forward  to  his  nomination 
as  generalissimo  of  the  royal  forces. 

The  proposition  of  a  union  which  was  to  have  been 
made  by  certain  of  the  councilors,  was  not  even  mooted ; 
nor  were  the  individual  interests  of  the  princes  alluded  to 
by  any  person  present,  although  it  was  for  this  precise 
purpose  that  the  assembly  had  been  convoked  ;  and  conse- 
quently after  lingering  for  a  short  time,  in  order  to  afford 
the  different  members  an  opportunity  of  suggesting  the 
settlement  of  these  claims,  and  finding  that  no  effort  was 
made  on  any  hand  to  enforce  them,  M.  de  Conde  ultimately 
lost  patience,  and  rose,  motioning  to  Monsieur  to  follow 
him;  and  immediately  afterward,  having  saluted  the  meet- 
ing, they  both  retired  by  the  great  entrance  which  opened 
on  the  Place  de  Greve. 

As  the  princes  left  the  Town-Hall  much  dissatisfied,  it 
is  probable  that  their  countenances  betrayed  their  annoy- 
ance, for  some  of  the  mob  remarked  their  discomfiture,  and 
loudly  demanded  its  cause  ;  upon  which  they  replied  that 


452  LOUIS     XIV.     A  X  D 

they  had  quitted  the  assembly,  as  .the  Union  had  not  only 
remained  unsigned,  but  had  actually  not  even  been  pro- 
posed. On  receiving  this  intelligence  the  populace,  who 
desired  nothing  more  than  a  commotion,  began  to  exclaim 
that  all  those  who  met  at  the  Town-Hall  were  nothing 
better  than  Mazarinites,  who,  on  the  day  of  the  battle  at 
the  Porte  St.  Antoine,  would  have  left  the  prince  to  per- 
ish if  Mademoiselle  had  not  compelled  them  to  assist 
him  ;  and  in  a  few  minutes  cries  of  "  The  Union  !  The 
Union !"  burst  from  every  quarter  of  the  crowd  ;  and  at 
the  same  time  a  volley  of  musketry  shattered  several  of 
the  windows  of  the  Town-Hall. 

The  terror  which  these  shouts,  and  the  balls,  which, 
after  having  shivered  the  glass  of  the  casements,  buried 
themselves  in  the  walls  of  the  council-chamber,  caused 
among  the  assembled  functionaries  was  so  great,  that  the 
greater  number  of  its  occupants  threw  themselves  on  the 
floor,  believing  that  their  last  hour  was  come,  and  began 
to  pray  with  the  utmost  devotion  ;  but  matters  became  still 
worse  when  a  fresh  discharge  of  bullets,  instead  of  striking 
diagonally  like  the  first,  entered  the  apartment  horizon- 
tally. Some  soldiers,  more  experienced  than  the  mob, 
had  taken  possession  of  the  opposite  houses,  and  were 
firing  point-blank  into  the  building ;  in  consequence  of 
which  fact,  two  or  three  shots  took  effect;  and  the  groans 
of  the  wounded,  and  the  shuddering  spasms  of  the  dying, 
mingled  with  the  general  confusion.  The  universal  idea 
was,  thenceforward,  flight ;  but  this  was  rendered  impos- 
sible by  the  fact  that  the  mob  had  invaded  all  the  issues 
of  the  Town-Hall,  and  closed  and  barricaded  all  the  doors, 
piling  before  them  fagots  of  wood,  to  which  they  set  fire, ' 
and  thus,  for  a  time,  wrapped  the  whole  building  in  flame.* 

While  this  was  going  forward  the  princes  returned-  to 
the  Luxembourg,  never  suspecting  the  violent  manner  in 
which   the  populace  were  enforcing  their  demands ;  and 
*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


T  H  K      UUURT      OF      F  R  A  N  C  E.  453 

as  Monsieur  immediately  retired,  having  suffered  greatly 
from  heat  during  the  meeting,  M.  de  Conde  remained  in 
the  ante-room  with  Mademoiselle,  the  Duchess  de  Sully,* 
the  Countess  de  Fiesque,  and  Madame  de  Villars,  where 
he  amused  himself  in  reading  some  letters  which  had  been 
brought  to  him  by  a  trumpeter  of  M.  de  Turenne ;  and 
he  was  still  intent  upon  their  contents,  when  a  citizen,  pale 
with  terror,  and  gasping  for  breath,  burst  into  the  apart- 
ment, exclaiming  that  the  Town-Hall  was  on  fire,  and 
that  the  people  were  shooting  and  killing  each  other. 

M.  de  Conde  immediately  informed  Monsieur  of  the  cir- 
cumstance, whose  terror  was  so  great,  that,  forgetting  he 
was  not  dressed,  and  that  there  were  ladies  in  the  ante- 
room, he  rushed  out  of  his  apartment  in  his  shirt,  imploring 
the  prince  to  hasten  instantly  to  the  scene  of  the  disaster, 
and  to  pacify  the  people.  M.  de  Conde,  however,  replied 
with  some  haughtiness  that,  although  there  were  few  things 
which  he  should  hesitate  to  undertake  in  order  to  serve 
His  Royal  Highness,  his  presence  on  the  present  occasion 
would  be  of  no  avail,  as  he  understood  nothing  about  se- 
dition, and  was  always  a  coward  in  a  mob;  but  that  he 
would  advise  him  to  send  the  Duke  de  Beaufort,  who  was 
well  known  and  very  popular  with  the  people,  a  fact  which 
would  render  him  much  more  useful  than  himself  in  such 
an  emergency.  M.  de  Beaufort  was  accordingly  dispatch- 
ed to  the  Town-Hall  without  loss  of  time ;  and  accepted 
the  mission  readily,  declaring  that  he  would  soon  bring  all 
the  rebels  to  their  senses. 

Mademoiselle,  who  felt  some  doubts  as  to  his  success, 
and  who  was  not  sorry,  moreover,  to  exhibit  the  extent 
of  her  own  influence  over  the  public  mind,  followed  her 
father  and  M.  de  Conde  to  the  cabinet  of  His  Royal  High- 
ness, and  suggested  that,  should  they  deem  it  expedient, 
she  would  herself  go,  and  endeavor  to  allay  the  tumult ; 

*  The  Duchess  de  Sully  was  the  daughter  of  the  Chancellor  Seguier, 
and  nicer  to  the  Bishop  of  Mcaux 


454  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

adding  that  it  would  strengthen  their  party  if  this  oppor- 
tunity were  seized  to  induce  the  Marshal  de  l'Hopital  and 
the  provost  of  the  merchants  to  give  in  their  resignation, 
which  would  be  a  triumph  for  the  people ;  while  His 
Royal  Highness  could  not  give  a  more  stringent  proof  of 
his  authority  than  by  withdrawing  them  in  safety  from  the 
hands  of  an  infuriated  mob. 

Monsieur,  delighted  by  any  expedient  which  did  not 
involve  his  own  safety  or  comfort,  conceded  the  point  at 
once  ;  and  as  he  had  by  this  time  conceived  a  high  idea 
of  the  generalship  of  the  princess,  he  bade  her  hasten  to 
accomplish  her  project,  if,  indeed,  it  could  be  achieved ; 
while  M.  de  Conde,  struck  with  the  extent  of  the  advan- 
tage to  be  gained,  made  no  other  reply  than  by  offering  to 
bear  her  company  :  a  proposal  Mademoiselle,  however, 
declined,  being  desirous  of  reaping  the  laurels  in  her  own 
person.  All  the  household  of  Monsieur  and  the  prince 
followed  in  her  train ;  and  she  was  accompanied  in  her 
coach  by  Mesdames  de  Sully  and  de  Villars,  and  the  two 
countesses,  her  usual  aides-de-camp,  who  were  considera- 
bly alarmed  at  this  new  adventure. 

They  had  scarcely  passed  the  gates  of  the  Luxembourg 
when  they  saw  a  man  lying  dead  in  the  street,  which  in- 
creased their  distaste  for  the  expedition  ;  but  the  princess, 
who  had  lately  become  inured  to  the  spectacle  of  violent 
and  premature  death,  bade  them  refrain  from  looking 
about  them,  and  trust  their  safety  with  confidence  to  her 
prudence.  Her  first  idea  was  to  approach  the  Town-Hall 
by  the  square  of  the  Greve,  but  she  fortunately  changed 
her  mind,  as  the  risk  would  have  been  immense ;  and  the 
party  had  scarcely  reached  the  termination  of  the  Rue  de 
Gevres,  in  order  to  cross  the  Pont-Neuf,  when  they  met 
the  dead  body  of  M.  Ferrand,  a  parliamentary  councilor, 
who  was  the  personal  friend  of  the  princess,  and  whom 
she  sincerely  regretted. 

As  the  carriage  moved  slowly  along,  she  questioned  all 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  455 

the  persons  whom  she  encountered  ;  and  learned  that  a 
controller  of  accounts  named  Miron,  who  was  known  to 
her,  had  likewise  perished  ;  and,  moreover,  that  the  Vicar 
of  St.  John-in-Greve  had,  in  his  anxiety  to  save  his  cu- 
rate, who  was  in  the  midst  of  the  mob,  rushed  from  his 
church,  lifting  above  his  head  the  Host  which  he  had  taken 
from  the  altar ;  but  that,  despite  his  holy  aegis,  the  miser- 
able fanatics  had  fired  upon  him.  On  hearing  the  detail 
of  this  enormity,  all  the  suite  of  Mademoiselle  gathered 
about  her  coach,  and  implored  her  to  forego  her  purpose; 
but,  although  she  consented  not  to  pursue  her  way,  she 
equally  refused  to  return  to  the  Luxembourg  without  an 
effort  to  allay  the  storm ;  and  she,  consequently,  sent  mes- 
senger after  messenger  to  the  Town-Hall,  to  bring  her  a 
precise  report  of  the  revolt.  Not  one  of  them,  however, 
returned  ;  and  she  then  determined  to  dispatch  a  trumpeter 
with  orders  to  sound  the  appel,  and  thus  attract  attention 
to  her  message ;  but  her  attendants  were  unable  to  find 
one ;  and  finally,  after  a  considerable  time  had  elapsed, 
she  drove  toward  the  Hotel  de  Nemours,  when,  on  trav- 
ersing the  Petit-Pont,  the  wh^el  of  her  carriage  became 
locked  in  that  of  the  vehicle  in  which  the  dead  were 
nightly  conveyed  from  the  Hotel-Dieu  to  their  common 
grave.  The  death-cart  was  heavily  laden  with  corpses, 
and  the  princess  had  barely  time  to  throw  herself  to  the 
other  side  of  the  coach,  in  order  to  avoid  the  contact  of 
the  arms  and  legs  which  protruded  from  between  the  rails 
of  the  wagon,  and  entered  the  window  of  her  own  vehicle. 
On  arriving  at  the  residence  of  M.  de  Nemours,  she  again 
failed  in  procuring  a  trumpeter ;  and  having  inquired  into 
the  progress  of  his  own  convalescence,  and  learned  that 
his  wound  had  proved  to  be  very  slight,  she  finally  return- 
ed with  great  reluctance  to  the  Luxembourg  to  report  her 
failure. 

Monsieur,  whose  terror  was  increased  by  all  he  heard, 
urged  her  to  make  another  attempt,  to  which  she  consent- 


456  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

ed,  and  again  set  forth,  accompanied  by  the  Duchess  de 
Sully  and  the  Countess  de  Frontenac,  who  would  not 
abandon  her,  and  attended  by  an  inconsiderable  retinue  ; 
for,  as  it  was  midnight  when  the  princess  returned  to  the 
palace,  most  of  her  attendants  had  imagined  that  she  would 
make  no  further  effort  that  night.  She  found  the  streets 
deserted  save  by  numerous  patrols,  each  of  which  afforded 
her  an  escort ;  and  as  her  carriage  stopped  in  the  Place 
de  Greve,  a  man  laid  his  hand  upon  the  window,  and 
asked  if  M.  de  Conde  was  with  her.  She  answered  in 
the  negative  ;  upon  which  he  immediately  walked  rapidly 
away,  and  by  the  light  of  the  flambeaux  which  were  in 
front  of  the  vehicle,  she  discovered  that  he  carried  a 
weapon  beneath  his  arm.  Just  at  that  moment,  M.  de 
Beaufort  approached,  caused  the  coach  to  be  drawn  up  at 
the  Town-Hall,  and  assisted  the  princess  to  alight.  With 
his  assistance,  she  passed  across  some  beams  which  were 
still  smoking,  and  entered  the  building.  All  was  silent 
and  deserted,  and  they  traversed  the  lower  portion  of  the 
edifice  without  meeting  a  single  human  being;  but  while 
Mademoiselle  was  examining  with  considerable  curiosity 
the  distribution  of  the  council-chamber,  the  mattre-d'hotel 
of  the  city  entered  cautiously,  and  informed  her  that  the 
provost  of  the  merchants  was  in  a  neighboring  apartment, 
and  requested  the  honor  of  an  interview  with  Her  Royal 
Highness.  This  was  precisely  what  Mademoiselle  de- 
sired ;  and  leaving  her  ladies  in  the  hall,  she  followed  the 
messenger,  accompanied  by  the  Counts  de  Fiesque,  de 
Bethune,  and  de  Prefontaine. 

In  a  small  dark  room  she  found  the  provost,  disguised 
by  an  enormous  wig,  but  perfectly  calm  and  self-possessed  ; 
and  informed  him  that  she  had  been  sent  by  Monsieur  to 
his  assistance,  a  commission  which  she  had  gladly  under- 
taken, having  always  felt  a  great  esteem  for  him  person- 
ally. She  would  not,  she  said,  moreover,  enter  into  any 
unpleasant  retrospection,  as  he  had  probably  believed  that 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  457 

he  was  doing  his  duty  while  opposing  her  interests,  and 
that  persons  were  frequently  misled  by  those  whom  they 
considered  as  their  friends. 

He  expressed,  in  reply,  how  deeply  he  felt  the  honor  of 
her  good  opinion,  and  declared  that  he  should  ever  remem- 
ber the  extent  of  his  obligation  to  both  herself  and  Mon- 
sieur ;  assuring  her  that  he  had  acted  upon  principle,  but 
that,  as  he  was  quite  conscious  of  his  unpopularity,  he 
was  ready,  if  Mademoiselle  would  cause  pens  and 
paper  to  be  brought  to  him,  at  once  to  place  his  resig- 
nation in  her  hands.  This,  however,  the  princess  re- 
fused to  permit,  merely  promising  to  mention  his  wish  to 
Monsieur,  who  could  send  for  the  proffered  resignation 
should  he  deem  it  desirable — but  decidedly  declining  to 
become  its  medium. 

The  Duke  de  Beaufort  terminated  the  discussion  by 
asking  the  provost  how  he  intended  to  dispose  of  himself; 
and  was  answered  that  all  he  wished  was  to  be  enabled  to 
return  to  his  own  house,  where  he  believed  that  he  should 
be  safe ;  upon  which  the  duke  left  the  room  to  reconnoiter 
a  side  door  opening  upon  a  retired  street ;  and  finding  it 
perfectly  free,  he  returned  in  search  of  the  discomfited 
functionary,  who  appeared  highly  delighted  at  his  pros- 
pect of  escape,  and  lost  no  time,  after  he  had  addressed  a 
parting  compliment  to  Mademoiselle,  in  profiting  by  the 
discovery.  The  princess  remained  in  the  apartment  until 
the  return  of  M.  de  Beaufort,  when  she  returned  to  the 
hall,  where  she  found  the  two  ladies  who  were  awaiting 
her  in  a  state  of  great  alarm,  another  musket  having  been 
fired  in  the  square ;  and  they  were  no  sooner  pacified  than 
she  proceeded  in  search  of  the  Marshal  de  l'Hopital,  but 
learned  that  he  had  already  succeeded  in  accomplishing  his 
exit  through  one  of  the  back  windows. 

As  the  day  was  beginning  to  dawn,  and  the  mob  to 
reassemble,  the  princess  thought  it  prudent  to  return  to 
the  palace,  lest  her  lengthened  sojourn  at  the  Town  Hall 
vol.  i. — U 


458  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

should  excite  suspicion  of  her  motives ;  and  she  accord- 
ingly reentered  her  carriage  amid  the  shouts  and  plaudits 
of  the  populace,  who  called  down  blessings  upon  her 
head,  declaring  that  all  she  did  was  well  done ;  and  with 
these  flattering  sounds  ringing  in  her  ears,  she  drove  off  at 
once  to  the  Louvre,  and  hastened  to  secure  a  little  rest 
after  her  fatigue  and  exertion. 

In  the  evening  the  Count  de  Fiesque  waited  upon  Her 
Royal  Highness,  to  inform  her  that  he  had  given  a  detail 
of  all  her  proceedings  to  JSIonsieur,  who  had  commanded 
the  Count  de  Bethune  and  himself  to  go  to  the  provost, 
and  to  demand  from  him  the  resignation  which  he  had 
proffered,  taking  with  them  M.  de  Prefontaine,  who  had 
been  present  at  the  time.  The  precaution  was,  however, 
unnecessary,  as  he  tendered  it  without  hesitation ;  and  on 
the  following  evening,  M.  de  Broussel,  whose  sentiments 
were  well  known,  was  elected  to  the  office.  A  meeting 
took  place  at  the  Town-Hall,  in  which  his  appointment 
was  recognized,  after  which  he  proceeded  to  the  Luxem- 
bourg, and  took  the  oath  to  Monsieur  as  it  was  customary 
to  do  to  the  sovereign.  The  president  De  Thou  was  at 
the  same  time  intrusted  with  the  duties  of  secretary  of 
state.* 

The  cardinal  no  sooner  learned  these  details  than  he 
removed  the  king  from  St.  Denis  to  Pontoise,  in  order 
that  he  might  be  in  the  center  of  Turenne's  army,  and 
an  order  was  dispatched  to  the  parliamentary  deputies  to 
follow  him  ;  but  as  they  raised  objections  to  this  measure, 
they  were  commanded  to  remain  at  St.  Denis.  On  the 
following  day  they,  however,  received  renewed  directions 
to  join  the  court,  which  they  immediately  communicated 
to  the  authorities  of  the  capital,  who  issued  a  decree 
enforcing  their  instant  return  to  Paris;  upon  which  Mon- 
sieur, the  prince,  and  the  Duke  de  Beaufort  (who  had 
succeeded  the  Marshal  de  l'Hopital  in  the  government 
*   Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Moutpensier. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  459 

of  the  city),  placed  themselves  at  the  head  of  eight 
hundred  infantry  and  twelve  hundred  cavalry,  to  escort 
them  into  the  gates,  and  to  impress  upon  the  populace 
that  they  were  protecting  them  from  an  imminent  danger; 
while  the  court  replied  to  this  demonstration  by  passing 
decrees  in  the  council  which  annulled  those  promulgated 
by  the  parliament ;  and  in  which  they  declared  all  their 
proceedings  to  be  void,  not  only  in  the  past  but  also  in 
the  future;  even  ordaining  that  the  moneys  destined  to 
defray  their  expenses  should  henceforth  be  paid  in  such 
places  as  His  Majesty  should  select  for  his  residence. 

These  were  again  answered  in  a  proposition  made 
by  Broussel  himself,  that  Monsieur  should  be  declared 
lieutenant-general  of  the  kingdom,  as  he  had  been 
during  the  minority  of  the  sovereign,  with  full  power 
to  act  as  he  saw  fit ;  and  should  retain  this  rank  so  long 
as  the  cardinal  remained  in  the  country,  using  every 
means  to  compel  his  expulsion  ;  while  M.  de  Conde 
should  be  requested  to  accept  the  command  of  the  army, 
under  the  authority  of  His  Royal  Highness.  A  copy 
of  this  proposition  was,  moreover,  dispatched  to  all  the 
parliaments  throughout  the  kingdom,  who  were  requested 
to  pass  a  similar  decree ;  but,  with  the  exception  of  that 
of  Bordeaux,  no  such  concession  was  made,  nor  was  any 
deliberation  held  upon  the  subject ;  while  in  Brittany  a 
demurrer  was  even  resolved  to  all  those  which  it  had  pre- 
viously rendered,  until  the  Spanish  troops  then  in  France 
should  have  left  the  country. 

Nor  was  Monsieur  fated  to  experience  a  greater  degree 
of  obedience  to  his  new  dignity  from  the  governors  of  the 
respective  provinces,  from  whom,  with  one  solitary  excep- 
tion, he  received  no  reply  to  his  appeal ;  the  court  having 
warned  them  by  a  solemn  decree  that  the  royal  council 
did  not  recognize  the  act  of  parliament  which  established 
the  office  ;  while,  even  in  Paris,  his  authority  was  so  far 
from  being  established,  that  two  criminals,  condemned  to 


460  LOUIS  XIV.  AND  THE  COURT  OF  FRANCE. 

be  hanged  for  having  fired  the  Town-Hall,  being  about  to 
suffer  for  their  crime,  the  city  companies  who  were 
ordered  to  attend  the  execution  refused  to  sanction  it  by 
their  presence.* 

*  Memoircs  du  Cardinal  de  Eetz. 


— 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Divisions  among  the  Princes — Quarrel  of  the  Dukes  de  Nemours  and 
Beaufort — Fatal  Duel — Death  of  M.  de  Nemours — Forbearance  of 
M.  de  Beaufort — The  Prince  de  Conde  receives  a  Blow — Answer 
of  the  President  Bellievre — Death  of  the  young  Duke  de  Valois — 
Severe  Indisposition  of  the  Princess  de  Conde — Renewed  Hopes 
of  Mademoiselle — Reconciliation  of  Mademoiselle  and  the  Duke  de 
Lorraine — New  Opposition  of  the  Parliament — Resignation  and  Re- 
tirement of  Mazarin — Resignation  of  the  Duke  de  Beaufort  and  M. 
Broussel — Return  of  the  King  to  Paris;  he  Dislodges  Mademoiselle 
from  the  Tuileries — Alarm  of  Monsieur:  refuses  to  Lodge  Mademoi- 
selle in  the  Luxembourg — Monsieur  leaves  Pans — Mademoiselle 
Retires  to  Pons — Position  of  the  Kingdom — Declaration  of  Le;e- 
Majeste  against  the  Princes — The  Prince  de  Conde  and  the  Duke 
de  Lorraine  continue  their  Military  Operations  in  the  Provinces. 

In  this  emergency  a  council  was  formed  of  which  Mon- 
sieur was  the  president;  an  arrangement  that  renewed 
the  old  enmity  between  the  Duke  de  Nemours  and  his 
brother-in-law,  M.  de  Beaufort,  who  had  some  altercation 
as  to  precedence,  in  which  M.  de  Nemours  exhibited 
great   irritability  and    haughtiness,  while   M.  de  Beaufort 


4G2  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

displayed  considerable  forbearance.  As  the  former  re- 
fused all  concession,  although  still  confined  to  the  house 
from  the  weakness  consequent  upon  his  wounds,  Monsieur 
and  the  Prince  de  Conde  became  alarmed  at  the  possible 
consequences  of  his  intemperance,  and  with  considerable 
difficulty  at  length  succeeded  in  obtaining  his  pledge  not 
to  proceed  to  any  act  of  violence  during  the  next  four-and- 
twenty  hours.  Despite  this  arrangement,  however,  Made- 
moiselle received  private  information  that  a  duel  would 
take  place ;  and  she  forthwith  dispatched  a  couple  of  her 
friends  to  seek  out  the  Duke  de  Beaufort  in  the  gardens 
of  the  Tuileries,  where  the  quarrel  was  stated  to  have 
been  renewed.  Their  report  was  calculated  to  allay  her 
fears,  for  they  asserted  that  he  was  quietly  walking  with 
four  or  five  of  his  friends,  and  that  nothing  in  either  his 
conversation  or  manner  induced  a  belief  that  he  had  gone 
there  with  any  hostile  intention.  A  different  impression 
had,  however,  taken  possession  of  Madame  de  Nemours, 
who  had  written  in  great  haste  to  Madame  de  Chavigny, 
to  entreat  that  she  would  closely  watch  the  movements 
of  the  two  brothers  in-law ;  and  as  the  latter  lady  imme- 
diately communicated  the  alarm  of  the  duchess  to  Made- 
moiselle, she  mentioned  the  fact  to  Monsieur,  who 
chanced  at  this  time  to  visit  her. 

His  Royal  Highness,  to  whom  it  was  not  convenient  to 
give  credence  to  such  a  rumour,  treated  the  matter  with 
contempt,  and  remarked  with  some  bitterness  to  the  prin- 
cess, that  she  was  constantly  fancying  quarrels,  which  was 
the  very  way  to  engender  them  ;  after  which  he  proceeded 
in  his  turn  to  the  Tuileries,  to  the  celebrated  restaurant 
of  Renard,  which  had  become  the  fashionable  promenade. 
Mademoiselle  followed  him,  but  at  some  distance,  having 
been  detained  in  conversation  with  M.  de  Jarze ;  and  as 
she  was  ascending  the  steps  which  led  to  the  terrace 
of  Renard,  one  of  the  pages  of  Madame  de  Chatillon 
grasped  her  dress,   and    having   attracted    her    attention, 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  4G3 

said  hurriedly,  that  the  duchess  had  sent  him  to  apprise 
Her  Royal  Highness  that  M.  de  Nemours  and  his  brother- 
in-law  were  about  to  meet  at  the  Petits-Peres ;  and  that 
she  entreated  her  to  inform  Monsieur  of  the  fact.  The 
princess  instantly  walked  to  the  bench  upon  which  her 
father  was  seated,  and  having  communicated  the  intelli- 
gence, had  the  gratification  of  seeing  him  at  length 
aroused  into  an  alarm  equal  to  her  own.  He  hurriedly 
desired  the  Counts  de  Fiesque  and  Fontrailles,  who  were 
with  him,  to  proceed  immediately  to  the  place  mentioned, 
and  to  prevent  the  encounter;  but  they  arrived  too  late; 
the  procrastination  of  Gaston  having,  as  usual,  rendered 
his  interference  of  no  avail.  The  parties  had  met ;  and 
M.  de  Nemours  had  fallen  by  the  hand  of  his  wife's 
brother. 

On  receiving  this  fatal  intelligence,  Monsieur  instantly 
returned  home ;  while  Mademoiselle  and  the  prince  pro- 
ceeded to  the  residence  of  the  unhappy  duchess,  whom 
they  found  in  a  state  bordering  on  distraction;  for  not 
only  the  melancholy  fact  itself,  but  also  the  circumstances 
by  which  it  was  attended,  were  too  well  calculated  to 
overcome  her  with  wretchedness.  Trusting  to  the  pledge 
given  by  M.  de  Nemours,  neither  the  Duke  d'Orleans  nor 
the  prince  had  taken  any  precautions  to  avert  the  catas- 
trophe ;  while  M.  de  Beaufort  had  made  every  effort  in 
his  power  to  avoid  the  meeting,  and  even  when  he  could 
no  longer  decline  it,  had  raised  difficulties  as  to  its  execu- 
tion, alledging  that  he  had  several  gentlemen  in  his  com- 
pany of  whom  he  could  not  rid  himself,  and  that  conse- 
quently the  encounter  must  be  deferred  until  another 
opportunity. 

On  receiving  this  last  reply  M.  de  Nemours  had  re- 
turned home,  where,  having  unfortunately  found  an  equal 
number  of  his  own  friends,  he  renewed  his  challenge  to 
M.  de  Beaufort;  and  they  all  left  the  Tuileries ;  after 
which   the   duel    took  place  in  the   horse-market,  behind 


4G4  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

the  Hotel  Vendome.  Three  of  the  Duke  de  Beaufort's 
witnesses  were  dangerously  wounded,  two  of  them  so 
much  so  that  they  died  within  four-and-twenty  hours  ; 
and,  as  we  have  already  stated,  M.  de  Nemours  himself 
fell. 

Even  to  the  last  the  Duke  de  Beaufort  had  endeavored 
to  appease  the  blind  rage  of  his  unnatural  relative ;  and 
when  M.  de  Nemours  approached  him  with  pistols 
already  loaded,  and  swords  already  drawn,  he  exclaimed 
deprecatingly,  "  Let  us  not  be  guilty  of  this  shame,  my 
brother.  Let  us  rather  forget  the  past,  and  be  recon- 
ciled." The  appeal,  touching  as  it  was,  nevertheless 
produced  no  effect ;  and  the  unhappy  Duke  de  Nemours 
fell  a  victim  to  his  own  indomitable  temper. 

The  report  of  firearms  drew  to  the  spot  several  per- 
sons who  chanced  to  be  walking  in  the  gardens  of  the 
Hotel  Vendome ;  and  among  others  the  Abbe  de  Saint- 
Pierre,  who  sprung  toward  the  dying  man,  and  raised 
him  in  his  arms.  He  had,  however,  only  time  to  press 
the  hand  of  the  horror-stricken  ecclesiastic,  and  to  mur- 
mur the  name  of  the  Savior,  when  he  fell  back  upon  the 
shoulder  of  his  supporter,  a  lifeless  corse.* 

On  the  following  day  there  occurred  a  similar  scene, 
save  only  that  it  was,  fortunately,  not  attended  with 
equally  fatal  results.  Another  dispute  on  the  same  con- 
temptible question  of  precedence  took  place  between  the 
Prince  of  Tarente,  son  of  the  Duke  de  la  Tremouille,  and 
the  Count  de  Rieux,  son  of  the  Duke  d'Elbceuf.  M.  de 
Conde,  who  chanced  to  be  present,  favored  the  pretensions 
of  the  Prince  de  Tarente,  who  was  his  near  relative ;  and 
during  the  discussion  which  ensued,  the  Count  de  Rieux 
having  made  use  of  a  gesture  which  M.  de  Conde  con- 
strued into  an  affront,  he  returned  it  by  a  blow,  which 
was  instantly  met  by  another.  The  prince,  who  was 
without  his  sword,  instantly  seized  that  of  the  Baron  de 
*   Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


THE     COURT     p  F     PR  A  N  C  E.  465 

Migenne,  who  was  standing  near  him,  and  M.  de  Rieux 
as  promptly  drew  his  own;  when  the  Count  de  Rohan, 
apprehensive  of  the  consequences,  sprung  between  the 
combatants,  ordering  M.  de  Rieux  instantly  to  withdraw ; 
and  he  was  forthwith  committed  to  the  Bastille  by  Mon- 
sieur. M.  de  Conde  was  not,  however,  to  be  so  easily 
appeased  ;  he  insisted  that  he  would  have  satisfaction  for 
the  insult  to  which  he  had  been  subjected ;  and  it  was 
with  considerable  difficulty  that  his  friends  could  convince 
him  that  he  had  been  the  first  aggressor;  when,  finally, 
aware  that  his  courage  could  not  under  any  circumstances 
be  called  in  question,  he  consented  to  let  the  matter  drop; 
but  it,  nevertheless,  rankled  deeply ;  and  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  same  day,  he  remarked  to  Mademoiselle  that  she 
saw  a  man  who  had  been  beaten  for  the  first  time  in  his 
life. 

A  similar  circumstance  had  nearly  occurred  during  the 
first  war  of  the  Fronde,  and  was  only  prevented  by  a 
witticism  of  the  president  Bellievre.  M.  de  Beaufort, 
experiencing  some  difficulty  in  the  success  of  his  projects, 
through  the  interference  of  the  Duke  d'Elbceuf,  lost  his 
temper;  and  seeking  some  method  to  attain  his  purpose, 
exclaimed  passionately,  "  If  I  were  to  strike  M.  d'Elbceuf, 
do  you  not  think  that  it  would  change  the  face  of  affairs !" 

"  No,  Your  Highness,"  replied  the  president,  "  I  think 
that  it  would  only  change  the  face  of  M.  d'Elbceuf."* 

After  the  spirited  interference  of  the  Count  de  Rohan, 
related  above,  Monsieur,  the  prince,  and  Mademoiselle, 
succeeded  in  obtaining  from  the  parliament  the  registra- 
tion of  his  claims  to  a  duchy,  which  were  not,  however, 
accorded  until  after  long  deliberation  ;  and  thus  the  brave 
old  family  motto  was  negatived  in  its  chivalry. 

About  this  time  M.  de  Valois,  the  only  son  of  Monsieur, 
expired  after  a  few  weeks'  illness;  and  the  blow  was  a 
heavy  one  to  the  prince,  who  caused  the  body  to  be  re- 
*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


4G6  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

moved  to  the  Calvary  until  its  interment  at  St.  Denis, 
for  which  he  anticipated  the  royal  authority  immediately 
upon  the  receipt  of  his  letters  to  the  court  announcing 
the  event.  He  was  not,  however,  destined  to  experience 
even  this  inadequate  consolation  ;  for  the  reply  which  he 
received  to  his  communication  was  couched  in  the  most 
harsh  and  unsympathizing  terms,  informing  him  that  the 
death  of  his  child  was  a  visible  judgment  of  God  for  the 
unjust  war  in  which  he  was  engaged;  with  several  other 
comments  quite  as  bitter,  as  insulting,  and  as  ill-timed. 

Mademoiselle  was  much  affected  by  this  death,  al- 
though the  child,  being  strangely  deformed,  would  never 
have  been  able  to  maintain  his  rank  with  that  dignity 
required  by  the  fastidiousness  of  the  court  to  which  he 
belonged.  Her  grief  was,  however,  diverted  by  intelli- 
gence received  by  M.  de  Conde  from  Bordeaux,  of  the 
severe,  and  it  was  believed  fatal,  illness  of  the  princess  his 
wife,  who  was  prostrated  by  fever :  and  as  Mademoiselle 
was  about  to  express  her  regret  in  the  courtly  common- 
place which  she  considered  necessary  to  the  occasion,  she 
was  interrupted  by  the  Countess  de  Frontenac,  who  told 
her  with  a  smile  that  she  had  learned  from  M.  de  Chavigny 
that  the  prince  was  already  consoled,  by  the  hope  that  she 
would  herself  accept  his  hand.  Once  more  busy  with  the 
idea  of  marriage,  the  princess  drove  to  the  Tuileries, 
where  she  encountered  M.  de  Conde  himself,  who  imme- 
diately joined  her,  and  they  walked  twice  up  and  down 
the  avenue  together  without  exchanging  a  word,  being 
apprehensive  that  they  were  observed. 

At  the  same  period  Monsieur  sent  for  his  daughter,  with 
considerable  mystery,  desiring  her  to  wait  upon  him  at  the 
Luxembourg,  with  no  other  attendance  than  that  of  the  two 
countesses  (Mesdames  de  Fiesque  and  de  Frontenac) ;  and 
she  hastened  to  obey,  feeling  convinced  that  news  had 
arrived  of  the  death  of  the  Princess  de  Conde,  and  that 
His  Royal  Highness  and  the  prince  were  anxious  to  ac- 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  4G7 

complish  her  marriage  before  any  interference  could  be 
offered  by  the  court.  Once  more,  however,  she  was  des- 
tined to  disappointment ;  for  the  object  of  her  hasty  sum- 
mons was  simply  to  communicate  to  her  the  receipt  of  a 
letter  from  the  Duke  de  Lorraine,  who,  in  reply  to  the 
entreaties  of  Monsieur  and  the  prince  that  he  should  join 
them  in  Paris,  had  written  to  declare  that  he  must  ahstain 
from  so  doing  until  he  had  obtained  the  pardon  of  Made- 
moiselle, whom  he  had  offended ;  and  receive  her  com- 
mands, as  well  as  those  of  Madame  de  Frontenac,  to  return 
to  the  capital.  M.  de  Saint  Etiemie,  who  had  been  the 
bearer  of  the  letter,  also  assured  her  that  the  duke  could 
be  induced  to  comply  with  the  wishes  of  His  Royal  High- 
ness upon  no  other  terms  ;  and,  eventually,  the  princess 
was  induced  to  write  to  M.  de  Lorraine,  declaring  that  she 
forgave  all  that  had  occurred,  in  the  hope  that  he  would 
repair  his  fault;  and  that  she  should  have  great  pleasure 
in  seeing  him.  The  countess  also  wrote;  and  the  ladies 
were  then  permitted  to  retire,  having  accomplished  a  very 
different  errand  from  that  which  they  had  anticipated.* 

We  have  already  stated,  that  the  king  had  issued  an 
ordinance  which  transferred  the  parliament  to  Pontoise  ; 
to  which  they  had  replied,  that  they  could  not  obey  the 
royal  command,  nor  even  give  it  a  public  reading,  so  long 
as  the  Cardinal  Mazarin  remained  in  France ;  while  they, 
moreover,  put  forth  an  ordinance  of  their  own,  by  which 
every  one  of  their  members  was  forbidden  to  leave  Paris; 
and  all  who  were  absent  were  enjoined  to  return  there. 
The  king  immediately  signified  his  acquiescence  in  their 
demand  ;  while  the  minister  tendered  his  resignation, 
which  was  accepted,  and  retired  to  Bouillon.  No  conces- 
sion could  have  been  ejther  better  judged,  or  better  timed, 
although  both  parties  at  once  felt  it  to  be  a  mere  comedy. 
The  attack  upon  the  Town-Hall,  in  which  several  magis- 
trates and  nearly  forty  citizens  lost  their  lives,  had  iudis- 
*  Memoiros  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


468  L  O  U  I  8     XIV.     AND 

posed  the  parliament  to  the  cause  of  the  princes;  while 
the  nomination  of  Monsiewr  as  lieutenant-general  of  the 
kingdom  had  been  carried  only  by  a  majority  of  five  voices, 
leaving  an  opposition  of  sixty-nine  members;  and  not  only 
the  provinces,  but  even  the  capital  itself,  were  beginning 
to  weary  of  a  war,  which,  while  it  harassed,  drained,  and 
weakened  the  resources  of  the  country,  could  be  ultimately 
productive  of  no  adequate  result.  The  departure  of  Ma- 
zarin  removed  all  pretext  of  discontent;  for,  his  banish- 
ment once  effected,  parliamentary  opposition  degenerated 
into  political  rebellion  ;  and  the  union  of  the  princes  be- 
came a  matter  of  high  treason,  against  both  the  sovereign 
and  the  state. 

The  declaration  of  the  king  which  announced  the  de- 
parture of  Mazarin  produced,  on  its  arrival  at  Paris,  all 
the  effect  which  had  been  anticipated.  Monsieur  and  the 
prince  proceeded  to  the  meeting  of  parliament,  and  de- 
clared that  the  principal  cause  of  their  opposition  no  longer 
existing,  they  were  ready  to  lay  down  their  arms  ;  pro- 
vided that  His  Majesty  should  see  fit  to  grant  an  amnesty, 
to  remove  the  troops  which  were  stationed  in  the  environs 
of  Paris,  to  withdraw  those  which  were  quartered  in 
Guienne,  and  to  give  free  passage  and  safeguards  to  the 
Spanish  forces  to  return  to  their  own  country  ;  as  well  as 
to  accord  permission  to  the  princes  themselves  to  send  en- 
voys to  confer  with  His  Majesty  upon  such  points  as  might 
still  require  adjustment.  While  the  parliament,  on  their 
side,  issued  a  decree,  by  which  it  was  ordained  that  His 
Majesty  should  be  thanked  for  banishing  the  cardinal ;  and 
very  humbly  requested  to  return  to  his  good  city  of  Paris. 

The  negotiation  proved  a  long  one,  for  the  princes  de- 
sired guaranties,  while  the  king  stood  firm,  and  refused  to 
compromise  his  dignity.  The  princes  stipulated  that  the 
past  should  be  as  though  it  had  never  been,  while  the  king 
maintained  that  there  were  certain  things  which  it  behooved 
him  to  keep  in  remembrance.     The  Cardinal  de  Retz  was 


T  U  E     COURT     OF     FRAN  C  E.  409 

the  representative  of  Monsieur,  and  M.  cle  Chavigny  that 
of  the  prince.  Neither  of  them,  however,  succeeded  as 
they  had  hoped  ;  Monsieur  received  only  vague  and  evasive 
answers;  and  M.  de  Conde  was  equally  unfortunate,  and 
became  the  more  intemperate  under  his  annoyance  from 
the  fact  of  a  severe  indisposition  obliging  him  to  leave 
Paris.  So  great,  indeed,  was  his  irritation,  that  before  his 
departure  he  threw  himself  into  a  violent  passion  with 
M.  de  Chavigny,  whom  he  reproached  with  having  neg- 
lected his  interests,  when  the  poor  young  nobleman  be- 
came so  alarmed  as  to  fall  ill,  from  which  illness  he  died 
some  days  afterward. 

The  reply  of  the  king  to  the  requisition  of  the  princes 
was  a  refusal  to  grant  the  necessary  passports  to  the  Mar- 
shal d'Etampes,  the  Count  de  Fiesque,  and  M.  de  Goulas; 
while  the  answer  to  Monsieur  individually,  expressed  that 
His  Majesty  was  surprised  the  Duke  d'Orleans  should  not 
have  reflected,  that  after  the  departure  of  the  cardinal 
there  remained  nothing  more  for  him  to  do,  than,  in  ac- 
cordance with  his  word  and  declaration,  to  lay  down  his 
arms,  to  renounce  all  associations  and  treaties,  and  to  with- 
draw the  foreign  troops  from  the  kingdom  ;  after  he  had 
done  which,  all  those  whom  he  sent  to  negotiate  an  ar- 
rangement with  the  court  would  be  well  received. 

The  Duke  de  Beaufort  and  M.  de  Broussel  mutually 
proffered  their  resignation — the  one  as  governor  of  Paris, 
and  the  other  as  provost  of  the  merchants.  They  preferred 
a  voluntary  tender  to  an  official  destitution,  as  heing  at 
once  more  safe  and  less  mortifying. 

On  the  17th  of  October  the  king  arrived  at  St.  Germain, 
where  the  civic  guard  and  the  town  deputation  hastened 
to  greet  him,  and  brought  back  with  them  in  triumph  the 
Marshal  de  l'Hopital,  and  the  Councilor  Lefevre,  who  re- 
turned to  their  former  offices  ;  announcing  at  the  same 
time,  that  in  two  days  the  king  would  make  his  entry  into 
the  capital. 


470  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

On  the  21st  he  accordingly  did  so,  having  slept  the  pre- 
vious night  at  Ruel ;  whence"  he  dispatched  two  of  his 
retinue  to  request  Monsieur  to  meet  him  outside  the  gates, 
an  invitation  which  was  peremptorily  declined,  His  Royal 
Highness  preferring  to  remain  shut  up  in  the  Luxembourg, 
where  the  acclamations  of  the  populace  were  nevertheless 
distinctly  audible.  As  they  had  shouted  on  the  news  of 
the  victory  of  Rocroy  ;  on  the  advent  of  M.  de  Conde,  and 
on  his  subsequent  banishment ;  on  learning  the  precipitate 
flight  of  Mazarin  from  the  capital,  and  on  his  reappear- 
ance in  triumph  by  the  side  of  the  young  monarch  ;  as  they 
had  shouted  for  Mademoiselle  when  she  turned  the  can- 
non of  the  Bastille  against  their  legitimate  sovereign,  so 
they  once  more  pealed  forth  their  rejoicings  at  the  return 
of  the  boy-king  whom  they  had  shed  both  blood  and  money 
to  deprive  of  his  capital. 

In  the  regulation  of  the  ceremonial  which  was  made  at 
Ruel  for  the  entrance  into  the  city,  it  had  been  decided 
that  the  king  should  ride  beside  the  queen's  carriage,  and 
be  surrounded  by  the  Swiss  guards  ;  but  the  young  mon- 
arch objected  to  this  arrangement,  nor  could  all  the  argu- 
ments which  were  advanced  in  its  favor  induce  him  to 
adopt  it.  He  would  return  to  his  capital,  he  said,  as  a 
sovereign  should  do,  at  the  head  of  his  army,  and  himself 
open  the  procession.  As  his  will  could  not  be  opposed,  he 
consequently  did  so  ;  and  showed  himself  thus,  amid  the 
glare  of  ten  thousand  torches,  to  his  so  lately  rebellious 
citizens,  upon  whom  the  boldness  of  the  act  produced  an 
unhoped-for  impression.  There  was  more  prudence  in  his 
precocious  courage  than  in  all  the  subtil  diplomacy  of  his 
more  experienced  mother. 

While  she  was  still  engaged  at  her  evening  toilet,  Made- 
moiselle was  waited  on  by  the  king's  steward,  M.  de  San- 
guin,  who  informed  her  that  he  was  the  bearer  of  a  letter 
from  His  Majesty,  which  he  had  been  instructed  to  deliver 
into  her  own  hands;    and  its  contents   signified   that  the 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  471 

king,  being  about  to  take  up  his  abode  in  Paris,  had  no 
other  residence  to  offer  to  his  brother  than  the  Tuileries, 
which  he  requested  her  to  vacate  on  the  following  mornino-. 
The  princess  merely  replied,  that  His  Majesty  should  be 
obeyed  ;  but  that  it  was  necessary  she  should  communicate 
the  order  which  she  had  received  to  His  Royal  Highness  ; 
and  that  if  he  returned  in  the  afternoon,  she  would  have 
the  honor  of  answering  the  letter  of  the  king.  She  then 
proceeded  to  the  Luxembourg,  where  she  found  Monsieur 
extremely  uneasy  and  out  of  temper  ;  who,  on  being  in- 
formed of  the  purport  of  her  visit,  and  consulted  as  to 
what  should  be  done,  told  her  that  she  had  nothing  to  do 
but  to  obey.  Finding  that  any  thing  more  definite  or  sat- 
isfactory was  not  to  be  extorted  from  her  father  in  his 
present  mood,  the  princess  accordingly  returned  home,  and 
summoned  to  her  assistance  the  president  Viole,  and  the 
parliamentary  counsel,  Croissy,  with  whom,  on  his  depart- 
ure, M.  de  Conde  had  entreated  her  to  advise  in  every 
emergency  ;  assuring  her  that  they  were  two  of  his  best 
friends,  in  whom  he  had  unlimited  confidence.  Viole,  on 
his  arrival,  told  her  that  it  was  reported  Monsieur  had  an 
understanding  with  the  court ;  and  he  even  showed  her  the 
articles  of  the  treaty;  upon  which  she  replied  calmly,  that 
the  president  must  know  His  Royal  Highness,  and  that  she 
would  not  be  answerable  for  any  of  his  actions;  adding, 
that  she  only  wished  to  ascertain  how  she  could  serve 
M.  de  Conde,  as  that  was  the  most  essential  consideration. 
M.  de  Viole  was  of  opinion  that  she  should  take  up  her 
abode  at  the  arsenal,  which  would  not  fail  to  annoy  the 
court,  and  M.  de  Croissy  agreed  with  the  suggestion.  The 
princess  consequently  looked  upon  the  matter  as  decided ; 
and  in  the  evening  mentioned  it  at  the  Luxembourg  to 
Monsieur,  who  offered  no  objection. 

On  her  return  home,  the  princess  found  the  duchesses 
of  Epernon  and  Chatillon  awaiting  her,  and  full  of  lamen- 
tation at  her  change  of  residence,  which  was  at  that  period 


472  louis    xiv.    and" 

the  most  agreeable  in  Paris.  Having  exhausted  their  re- 
grets, they  at  last  inquired  where  she  had  decided  to  take 
up  her  abode.  She  replied,  at  the  arsenal;  upon  which 
Madame  de  Chatillon  exclaimed,  that  she  could  not  con- 
ceive who  had  been  so  ill-advised  as  to  propose  such  an 
arrangement;  nothing  being  less  expedient,  or  so  useless 
to  the  interests  of  M.  de  Conde.  Mademoiselle  replied, 
that  she  acted  upon  the  advice  of  Messieurs  Viole  and 
Croissy  ;  but  this  information,  far  from  satisfying  the 
duchess,  only  determined  her  to  be  frank.  She  therefore 
assured  the  princess,  that  if  she  contemplated  another  op- 
position to  the  court,  she  would  inevitably  subject  herself 
to  great  annoyance — that  the  time  was  passed  for  demon- 
strations such  as  those  which  had  been  previously  made ; 
and  that  all  Mademoiselle  now  had  to  do  was  to  consider 
how  she  could  withdraw  herself  with  the  best  grace  ;  finally 
declaring  that,  as  her  servant,  she  thought  it  her  duty  to 
inform  Her  Highness  that  Monsieur  had  reconciled  him- 
self with  the  court ;  and  had  asserted,  that  as  he  could  not 
answer  for  her  conduct,  he  consequently  abandoned  her 
fortunes. 

The  princess,  grateful  for  the  confidence  which  Madame 
de  Chatillon  had  placed  in  her,  thanked  her  sincerely  for 
her  good  faith  ;  and  desired  M.  de  Prefontaine  to  see  the 
president  Viole  and  M.  de  Croissy,  early  in  the  morning, 
to  tell  them  what  she  had  learned,  and  to  solicit  their  ad- 
vice; stating  at  the  same  time  her  own  opinion,  which 
was,  that  under  the  circumstances,  she  ought  to  make 
another  arrangement.  In  this  sentiment  both  her  counsel- 
ors agreed  ;  and  it  was  then  suggested  by  some  of  her 
friends  that  she  should  establish  herself  in  the  palace  of 
Mazarin,  a  measure  which  would  compel  the  court  to  offer 
her  a  handsome  residence  in  order  to  induce  her  to  vacate 
it  ;  but  to  this  neither  the  princess  hereslf,  nor  Monsieur 
would  give  their  consent ;  they  had  no  ambition  to  seize 
the  lion  by  the  mane.     The  whole  day  was  thus  uselessly 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  473 

exhausted  in  seeking  a  residence  which  could  not  be  found  ; 
and  the  heiress  of  a  score  of  duchies,  divers  principalities, 
and  almost  unlimited  wealth,  found  herself  compelled  to 
accept  shelter  for  the  night  from  the  Countess  de  Fiesque, 
her  attendant ;  which  she  did  with  somewhat  ruffled  tem- 
per, and  still  more  uneasiness. 

Despite  the  assertion  made  to  Mademoiselle  by  Viole, 
no  treaty  had  actually  been  concluded  between  Monsieur 
and  the  court.  The  good  faith  of  the  president  was,  how- 
ever, perfect ;  and  he  had  full  authority  for  believing  it  to 
have  been  completed.  Such  was,  nevertheless,  not  the 
case,  although  the  difficulty  had  not  arisen  with  Gaston, 
who  had  proposed  certain  articles  of  arrangement  which 
the  king,  or  rather  those  about  him,  had  definitely  reject- 
ed;  and  in  a  few  days,  to  his  infinite  astonishment  and 
mortification,  His  Royal  Highness  received  an  order  from 
His  Majesty  to  retire  from  Paris.  During  the  embarrass- 
ment of  Mademoiselle,  his  own  daughter,  he  had  selfishly 
resolved  not  to  offer  her  a  temporary  asylum  in  the  Lux- 
embourg, being  aware  of  the  strong  feeling  which  existed 
against  her  in  the  court  party,  and  being  fearful  of  compro- 
mising himself  by  an  act  of  paternal  kindness;  and  now  he 
found  himself,  in  his  turn,  thrust  across  the  threshold  of  the 
palace,  and  even  beyond  the  gates  of  the  capital. 

Monsieur  had  no  sooner  received  the  royal  command, 
than,  without  betraying  its  purport  to  any  one,  he  hastened 
to  the  parliament,  to  assure  them  that  he  had  entered  into 
no  treaty  whatever  with  the  court ;  and  that  he  was  re- 
solved, rather  than  separate  his  interests  from  their  own, 
to  perish  with  them.  Perfectly  unaware  of  the  strait  in 
which  the  prince  found  himself  at  the  moment,  and  which 
had  wrung  from  him  this  unusual  burst  of  generous  einhu- 
siasm,  the  meeting  warmly  thanked  him  for  so  flattering  a 
demonstration  of  attachment;  but  His  Royal  Highness 
nevertheless  returned  to  the  Luxembourg  in  a  very  bad 
humor,  which   lie  was  anxious  to  exhaust  upon  the  first 


474  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

persons  who  afforded  him  a  pretext- for  pouring  forth  upon 
them  his  "  vial  of  wrath." 

Mademoiselle  proved  to  be  the  victim  ;  for,  having 
learned  the  exile  of  her  father,  and  being  anxious  to 
ascertain  the  truth  of  the  rumor,  she  entered  the  cabinet 
of  Madame  only  a  few  minutes  after  Monsieur  himself. 

We  have  already  stated  that  Gaston  felt  no  overween- 
ing affection  for  the  daughter  of  his  first  marriage  ;  and  for 
this  there  were  many  causes,  for  although  his  egotism 
would  have  alone  sufficed  to  produce  such  a  result,  it  was 
rendered  more  pronounced  by  his  jealousy,  alike  of  her 
wealth  and  of  her  courage.  His  second  family,  which 
increased  rapidly,  were  comparatively  beggars,  and  he 
still  had  enough  of  the  father  about  him  to  feel  anxious  for 
their  future  position  ;  while  he  could  not  conceal  from 
himself  that,  on  several  occasions  where  he  had  played  the 
craven,  Mademoiselle  had  enacted  the  heroine  ;  and  how- 
ever convenient  such  a  fact  had  proved  at  the  moment 
when  it  was  needed,  it  was  gall  and  wormwood  to  his 
after-reflections.  No  one  could,  consequently,  have  been 
more  welcome  to  him  than  herself,  at  the  present  crisis, 
for  he  could  pour  forth  his  bitterness  in  safety,  and  without 
risk  of  its  subsequent  consequences,  upon  one  who  owed 
him  alike  submission  and  respect.  The  first  words  to 
which  the  unlucky  princess  gave  utterance  sufficed,  there- 
fore, to  draw  down  the  avalanche  of  his  ill-humor  upon 
her,  as  she  inquired  if  it  were  really  true  that  His  Royal 
Highness  had  received  an  order  to  withdraw  from  the 
capital  1  To  which  question  he  replied,  that  he  believed 
he  was  not  called  upon  to  account  to  her  for  his  move- 
ments. 

Startled,  but  not  surprised,  for  she  was  aware  of  the 
infirmity  of  her  father,  Mademoiselle  declared  that  she 
could  not  give  credit  to  the  rumor  of  his  thus  tamely 
abandoning  the  cause  of  M.  de  Conde  and  the  Duke  de 
Lorraine — a  remonstrance  which  only  met  with  a  similar 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  475 

rejoinder  to  the  first.  Mademoiselle  next  requested  to 
be  informed  if  she  were  also  to  be  banished  ;  and  this 
inquiry  was  still  more  bitterly  answered.  He  said  that 
he  should  not  interfere  in  any  thing  that  concerned  her; 
for  that  she  had  conducted  herself  so  ill  toward  the  court, 
that  he  had  ceased  to  feel  any  care  for  her  interests,  even 
as  she  had,  on  her  side,  rejected  his  advice. 

Mademoiselle,  calmly  as  she  always  met  the  ignoble 
temper  of  her  father,  could  not  suffer  such  an  accusation 
as  this  to  pass  without  comment ;  and  she  accordingly  re- 
plied, with  great  firmness,  that,  if  His  Royal  Highness 
alluded  to  her  conduct  at  Orleans,  she  begged  to  remind 
him  that  she  had  acted  entirely  by  his  order ;  and  that 
although  she  could  not  produce  written  evidence  of  the 
fact,  inasmuch  as  he  had  given  her  his  commands  by  word 
of  mouth,  she  still  possessed  several  letters  from  His 
Royal  Highness,  couched  in  terms  of  approbation  beyond 
her  deserts,  and  so  full  of  affection  and  tenderness,  that 
they  had  not  led  her  to  anticipate  his  present  reproaches. 

Beaten  at  Orleans,  Monsieur,  to  whom  the  subject  was 
always  a  bitter  one,  retreated  upon  Paris,  and  asked  her, 
sarcastically,  if  she  imagined  that  the  affair  at  the  Porte 
St.  Antoine  had  tended  to  serve  her  at  court  ?  She  had, 
he  said,  been  delighted  to  play  the  heroine,  and  to  be 
called  such  by  her  faction,  as  well  as  to  be  told  that  she 
had  twice  insured  its  safety  ;  and  that  now,  whatever 
might  be  the  result,  she  had  only  to  console  herself  hy 
the  remembrance  of  the  praises  which  had  been  lavished 
upon  her. 

To  this  taunt  Mademoiselle  responded,  by  declaring 
that  she  had  done  him  as  good  service  at  the  barrier  as  at 
Orleans ;  that  both  in  the  one  place  and  in  the  other  she 
had  acted  by  his  authority,  blamable  as  he  now  considered 
her ;  and  that,  were  the  opportunity  to  recur,  she  should 
not  hesitate  to  do  precisely  as  she  had  done,  considering 
that  such  would  be  her  duty,  as  he  had  a  right  to  com- 


476  LOUIS     XI  V.     AND 

mand  both  her  obedience  and  her  services.  She  added, 
moreover,  that  if  his  Royal  Highness  were  destined  to  be 
unfortunate,  she  considered  it  only  proper  that  she  should 
share  his  disgrace  and  his  evil  fortunes ;  and  that  she  was 
better  pleased  to  feel  that  she  had  not  been  useless  in  the 
past,  than  to  see  herself  punished  without  cause.  She 
knew  nothing,  she  said,  about  her  being  a  heroine  ;  but 
she  was  aware  that  the  privileges  of  her  high  birth  en- 
tailed upon  her  the  necessity  of  a  noble  and  elevated  line 
of  conduct,  which  all  were  at  liberty  to  designate  as  they 
pleased,  but  which  she  simply  considered  as  pursuing 
her  proper  path,  from  not  having  been  born  in  so  mean 
a  rank  as  to  find  herself  compelled  to  adopt  that  of 
others. 

After  a  time  the  ill-humor  of  Monsieur  began  to  evapo- 
rate ;  when  the  princess  again  spoke  of  her  difficulty  in 
procuring  a  residence,  and  even  so  far  conquered  her 
pride  as  to  entreat  him  to  give  her  accommodation  in  the 
Luxembourg.  He  briefly  answered,  that  there  was  not 
room  to  receive  her;  upon  which  she  remarked,  that  no 
individual  of  his  household  had  shown  her  the  courtesy  to 
offer  her  their  apartments,  although  she  believed  that  she 
had  the  greatest  right  to  expect  a  home  there  ;*  but  even 
this  hint  failed  in  its  effect  upon  the  obtuse  prince,  who 
satisfied  himself  by  observing,  that  all  the  present  inhabi- 
tants of  the  palace  were  necessary  to  his  comfort,  and  that 
he  should  not  suffer  one  of  them  to  be  disturbed. 

"  In  that  case,"  said  Mademoiselle,  resolutely,  "  I  shall 
establish  myself  at  the  Hotel  de  Conde  ;  it  is  empty,  and  I 
can  there  command  ample  accommodation." 

So  bold  a  resolution  brought  cold  damps  to  the  forehead 
of  the  quailing  listener  ;  and  he  had  only  power  to  utter  a 
peremptory  command  that  she  should  immediately  abandon 
such  an  idea. 

*  The  Luxembourg  Palace  was  the  property  of  Madkiioiselle. 


THE     COURT     UF     FRANCE.  47  7 

"  Where,  then,  does  Your  Royal  Highness  wish  me  to 
go  V  asked  the  poor  princess. 

"  W  lie  re  you  please" — was  the  regal  reply  ;  and  as 
Monsieur  gave  it  utterance,  he  turned  upon  his  heel,  and 
left  the  room.  Thus  uncourteously  dismissed,  Mademoi- 
selle returned  to  the  Hotel  de  Fiesque  ;  and  it  was  at 
length  determined  that  she  should  pass  the  night  under 
the  roof  of  Madame  de  Montmort,  the  sister  of  the  count- 
ess, where  she  awaited,  with  great  anxiety,  the  permission 
of  His  Royal  Highness  to  reside  under  his  protection. 
No  Sv'ch  permission,  however,  reached  her ;  but  early  on 
the  following  morning,  having  received  a  note,  from  which 
she  learned  that  Monsieur  had  already  started  for  Limours, 
she  immediately  dispatched  the  Count  de  Holac,  by  whom 
he  was  overtaken  near  Berny. 

The  Duke  d'Orleans  had  no  sooner  recognized  his 
daughter's  messenger  than,  leaving  liim  no  time  to  explain 
his  errand,  he  exclaimed  that  he  was  glad  to  see  him,  in 
order  that  he  might  communicate  his  pleasure  to  Made- 
moiselle that  she  should  retire  to  her  estate  of  Bois-le- 
Vicomte,  and  cease  to  delude  herself  with  the  hopes  held 
out  to  her  by  the  Duke  de  Beaufort  and  Madame  de 
Montbazon  that  she  could  in  any  way  assist  the  views  of 
M.  de  Conde,  or  repair  his  fortunes.  She  might  learn,  he 
said,  that  there  was  nothing  more  to  be  done,  by  the  indif- 
ference with  which  the  populace  of  Paris  had  suffered 
him  personally  to  leave  the  capital,  although  he  was  so 
much  better  loved  and  more  important  than  herself.  She 
had,  therefore,  only  to  withdraw  herself  from  the  city,  and 
not  to  anticipate  impossible  events.  M.  de  Holac  vent- 
ured to  remonstrate,  and  to  observe,  that  Her  Royal 
Highness,  aware  of  the  route  which  he  had  taken,  was 
already  preparing  to  follow  him.  To  this  measure  the 
prince,  however,  vehemently  dissented,  declaring,  that  she 
must  immediately  proceed  to  Bois-le-Vicomte,  as  he  had 
already  ordered,  and  as  he   once  more  repeated.      Tho 


478  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

count  respectfully,  but  firmly,  again  urged  the  utter  impos- 
sibility of  such  a  step,  Bois-le-Vicomte  being  a  solitary 
house,  and  surrounded  in  all  directions  by  troops,  who  pil- 
laged every  place  near  which  they  passed ;  declaring 
that  it  would  be  out  of  their  power  even  to  procure  neces- 
sary provisions  ;  and  that,  moreover,  Mademoiselle  had 
generously  converted  the  chateau  into  a  hospital  for 
those  who  had  been  wounded  at  the  battle  of  the  Porte 
St.  Antoine — a  circumstance  which,  of  course,  excluded 
her  from  its  occupancy.  The  retort  of  Monsieur,  upon 
this  announcement,  was,  that  if  such  were  the  case,  she 
might  retire  to  another  of  her  estates,  or  live  anywhere 
she  pleased,  provided  it  were  not  with  him. 

M.  de  Holac  then  suggested  that  the  princess  should 
take  up  her  abode  with  Madame,  who  had  remained  in 
Paris,  being  too  ill  to  venture  upon  a  journey ;  but  this 
proposition  met  with  no  more  encouragement  than  the 
last — Monsieur  asserting  that  such  an  arrangement  was 
impossible,  for  that  Madame  was  in  weak  health,  and  that 
Mademoiselle  would  inconvenience  her:  upon  which  the 
count  replied,  with  a  profound  bow,  that  he  considered  it 
his  duty  to  infoi-m  His  Royal  Highness  that  he  apprehend- 
ed all  opposition  would  be  useless,  as  the  princess  had 
resolved  upon  rejoining  him. 

"  Let  her  do  as  she  likes,  then,"  said  Monsieur,  dogged- 
ly ;  "  but  let  her  know,  at  the  same  time,  that  if  she  does 
come,  I  shall  turn  her  out." 

It  was,  of  course,  useless  to  attempt  further  expostula- 
tion, and  the  Count  de  Holac  accordingly  retired  to  report 
the  ill-success  of  his  mission  to  Mademoiselle,  who  quit- 
ted Paris  on  the  following  day,  without  having  made  any 
definite  arrangement.  She  left  the  city  in  a  carriage,  lent 
to  her  for  the  purpose  by  Madame  de  Montmort,  drawn 
only  by  two  horses,  a  few  attendants  in  undress  liveries, 
three  femmes-de-chambre,  and  accompanied  merely  by  the 
Countess  de  Frontenac  ;   and  with  this  limited  retinue  took 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  479 

up  her  temporary  residence  at  Pons,  in  the  house  of 
Madame  de  Bouthelier,  the  mother  of  the  unfortunate 
Chavigny. 

On  the  very  day  of  her  departure  the  king  published  an 
amnesty,  from  which,  however,  were  excluded  the  Dukes 
de  Beaufort,  de  la  Rochefoucould,  and  de  Rohan;  six 
parliamentary  councilors,  the  president  Perault,  and  all 
the  followers  of  the  house  of  Conde ;  while  in  his  suit  he 
had  nevertheless  brought  Henry  de  Guise,  the  archbishop 
of  Rheims,  lately  a  prisoner  in  Spain,  who  had  been  re- 
called a  fortnight  previously  to  France,  at  the  solicitation 
of  the  prince. 

Let  us  give  a  brief  glance  at  the  situation  of  the  king- 
dom at  this  period. 

The  archduke  had  retaken  Gravelins  and  Dunkirk  : 
Cromwell,  without  any  declaration  of  hostilities,  had 
seized  several  French  ships;  Barcelona  and  Casal,  the 
one  the  key  of  Spain,  and  the  other  that  of  Italy,  were 
wrenched  from  the  French  crown  ;  Champagne  and  Pic- 
ardy  had  been  ravaged  by  the  passage  of  the  troops  of 
Spain  and  Lorraine,  whom  the  princes  had  summoned  to 
their  aid ;  Berry,  Nivernais,  Saintonge,  Poitou,  Perigord, 
Limousin,  Anjou,  Touraine,  Orleanais,  and  Bauce,  were 
ruined  by  the  civil  war ;  the  standards  of  Spain  had 
floated  over  the  Pont-Neuf,  and  flouted  the  proud  statue 
of  Henry  IV. ;  and,  finally,  the  yellow  scarfs  of  Lorraine 
had  fluttered  in  the  streets  of  Paris  as  freely  as  the  blue 
and  isabel,  which  were  the  distinguishing  colors  of  the 
houses  of  Orleans  and  Conde.  The  Cardinal  de  Retz, 
who  had  remained  neutral  in  all  the  recent  movements, 
had  hastened  to  congratulate  the  king  and  his  illustrious 
mother  on  their  return  to  the  good  city  whence  they  had 
so  long  been  banished :  the  Duke  d'Orleans,  having  vainly 
proffered  the  most  vehement  professions  of  an  unalterable 
fidelity  for  the  future,  had  retired  to  Blois,  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  court.     Mademoiselle,  after  having  wandered 


480  L  O  C  I  S     XIV.      AND 

right  and  left,  hoped  and  despaired  a  thousand  times,  and 
maintaired  a  correspondence  with  the  prince,  which,  of 
course,  tended  to  produce  no  result,  finally  took  up  her 
abode  upon  one  of  her  estates  at  Fargeau  ;  the  Duke  de 
Beaufort,  the  Duchess  de  Montbazon,  and  Madame  de 
Chatillon,  had  left  Paris ;  the  Princess  de  Conde,  the 
Prince  de  Conti,  and  the  Duchess  de  Longueville  re- 
mained at  Bordeaux,  no  longer  as  the  sovereign  masters 
of  the  city,  but  as  simple  inhabitants;  while  the  un- 
fortunate Duke  de  la  Rochefoucauld,  as  yet  barely  con- 
valescent of  the  grievous  wound  which  he  had  received 
at  the  Porte  St.  Antoine,  had  caused  himself  to  be  removed 
to  Bagneux,  nearly  cured  both  of  his  fancy  for  faction  and 
his  passion  for  Madame  de  Longueville  ;  and,  finally,  the 
Duke  de  Rohan,  who  was  believed  to  be  one  of  the  most 
faithful  followers  of  the  prince,  and  who  was  under 
weighty  obligations  both  to  him  and  Monsieur,  had 
arranged  matters  so  cleverly,  that  a  week  after  their 
entrance  into  Paris,  Their  Majesties  stood  sponsors  to 
his  infant  son.* 

Thus  the  court  saw  all  their  enemies  dispersed  and 
overcome,  save  one  ;  but  of  that  one  the  very  name  was 
formidable,  although,  by  the  recent  events,  he  found  him- 
self shorn  of  at  least  three  fourths  of  his  strength.  We 
allude,  of  course,  to  M.  de  Conde  ;  of  whose  diminished 
influence  the  royal  council  were  so  well  aware,  that  they 
did  not  hesitate  to  urge  the  king,  in  a  Bed  of  Justice 
which  he  held  on  the  13th  of  the  following  month,  to  pub- 
lish a  declaration,  setting  forth  that  the  princes  de  Conde 
and  Conti,  the  Prince  of  Tarente,  the  Duchess  de  Longue- 
ville, the  Duke  de  la  Rochefoucauld,  and  all  their  ad- 
herents, having  rejected  with  contempt  and  persever- 
ance the  favors  which  had  been  offered  to  them,  and,  by 
these  means,  rendered  themselves  unworthy  of  all  pardon, 
had  irrevocably  incurred  the  penalties  declared  against 
*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  48 1 

rebels,    guilty   of   lese-majeste,    disturbers   of   the    public 
peace,  and  traitors  to  their  country. 

The  parliament  registered  this  declaration,  without 
comment  or  hesitation,  while  M.  de  Conde  and  the  Duke 
de  Lorraine  continued  their  military  operations  in  the 
provinces  with  varying  success,  but  succeeded  under 
every  circumstance  in  harassing  the  forces  which  were 
opposed  to  them. 

VOL.  I. X 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


Imprudence  of  the  Coadjutor — The  Court  are  anxious  for  its  Over- 
throw— Louis  XIV.  asserts  himself — Resolves  on  his  Arrest — Auto- 
graph Order  to  that  Effect — Arrest  of  the  Coadjutor — The  Opiate-Paste 
— Termination  of  the  Second  Fronde — Return  of  Mazarin — Deaths 
of  the  Duke  de  Bouillon,  the  Marshal  Caumont  de  la  Force,  and 
Mademoiselle  de  Chevreuse — Marriage  of  the  Poet  Scarron  and 
Frances  D'Aubigny — Early  History  of  Frances  D'Aubigny. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  decree  just  named,  the  king  sent 
M.  de  Saintot,  the  master  of  the  ceremonies,  to  the  Car- 
dinal de  Retz,  to  command  his  attendance  at  the  meeting 
in  which  it  was  to  be  declared  :  to  which  summons  the 
prelate  replied,  that  he  most  humbly  begged  permission 
of  his  His  Majesty  to  absent  himself,  as  he  conceived  that 
it  would  neither  be  just  nor  courteous,  when  he  was  on 
friendly  terms  with  M.  de  Conde,  for  him  to  vote  in  a 
deliberation  in  which  it  was  question  of  his  condemnation. 
Saintot  had  warned  him  of  its  having  been  suggested  in 
the  presence  of  the  queen  that  he  would  avail  himself  of 
this  pretext  to  refuse  compliance  with  the  king's  summons  ; 


LOUIS  XIV.  AMD  THE  COURT  OF  FRANCE.  483 

and  also  that  she  had  remarked  the  excuse  was  not  valid, 
inasmuch  as  M.  Guise,  who  owed  his  liberty  to  the  solici- 
tation of*  the  prince,  would  be  present;  upon  which  M. 
de  Retz  retorted  that,  had  he  been  of  the  same  profession 
as  the  Archbishop  of  Rheims,  he  should  have  been  de- 
lighted to  emulate  the  noble  feats  which  that  prince  had 
lately  accomplished  in  Naples. 

This  rejoinder  exasperated  the  queen,  and  her  anger 
was  heightened  by  the  comments  of  those  about  her,  who 
declared  that  it  was  a  convincing  proof  of  his  anxiety  for 
M.  de  Conde's  interests  ;  and  what  he  thus  simply  decided 
upon  principle,  assumed,  in  her  mind,  the  indication  of 
measures  inimical  to  the  court  either  already  taken,  or 
about  to  be  attempted.* 

Anxious,  thenceforward,  to  be  freed  from  an  enemy 
whose  popularity  rendered  him  doubly  dangerous,  the  court 
offered  to  M.  de  Retz  the  direction  of  their  affairs  in  Rome 
for  the  space  of  three  years,  the  liquidation  of  all  his  debts, 
and  an  ample  income  to  enable  him  to  make  a  brilliant 
figure  in  the  capital  of  the  Christian  world;  but,  conscious 
that  their  motive,  so  far  from  being  a  desire  to  forward  his 
interests,  was  only  to  effect  his  removal  from  the  capital, 
he  resolved  to  treat  the  proposal  accordingly,  and  stipulated 
for  certain  conditions  before  he  would  consent  to  abandon 
his  see  ;  all  of  which  were  for  the  purpose  of  enriching  his 
friends  rather  than  himself,  but  were  not,  on  that  account, 
the  less  impolitic  or  exorbitant. 

From  that  moment  the  council  resolved  to  rid  themselves 
of  him  in  a  more  summary  and  authoritative  manner;  and 
the  young  king,  who  had  begun  to  assert  himself,  gave  such 
evident  tokens  of  his  distaste  to  the  exacting  and  self-ap- 
preciating prelate,  that  his  friends  warned  him  to  beware 
of  the  young  but  nervous  will  of  the  stripling-monarch, 
which  he  might  find  it  difficult  to  oppose.  M.  de  Retz, 
however,  smiled  at  the  caution  ;  and  when  the  president 
*   Mpmoires  dn  Cardinal  de  R«*tz 


484  LUUIS     XIV.     AND 

Bellievre,  among  others,  was  expressing  some  apprehen- 
sion of  the  kind,  he  answered,  calmly,  that  he  had  two  oars 
which  would  prevent  the  capsizing  of  his  bark  :  one  was 
his  cardinal's  mace,  and  the  other  was  the  crosier  of  Paris.* 
The  Princess-Palatine,  who  had  made  her  peace  with  the 
court,  without,  however,  withdrawing  her  friendship  from 
the  prelate,  endeavored,  in  her  turn,  to  convince  him  that 
he  was  tempting  his  fate,  assuring  him  that  it  had  been  re- 
solved to  remove  him,  even  at  the  sacrifice  of  his  life  ;  but, 
although  he  thanked  her  for  the  interest  which  she  ex- 
hibited in  his  welfare,  he  nevertheless  persisted  in  remain- 
ing quietly  in  Paris,  although  he  consented  not  to  risk  him- 
self at  the  Louvre. 

As  it  was  soon  ascertained  that  he  had  come  to  this  de- 
cision, it  was  determined  to  arrest  him  wherever  he  might 
be  met  with,  and  Pradelle,  a  captain  of  the  royal  guards, 
received  a  written  order  to  that  effect ;  while  upon  his 
suggestion  that  the  cardinal  would  never  suffer  himself  to 
be  taken  without  offering  resistance,  and  that,  in  order  to 
secure  his  seizure,  he  might,  in  consequence,  be  compelled 
to  take  his  life,  which  he  could  not  consent  to  do,  without 
sufficient  authority,  the  king  seized  a  pen,  and  wrote  with 
his  own  hand  at  the  bottom  of  the  order : — 

"  I  have  commanded  Pradelle  to  execute  the  present  or- 
der on  the  person  of  the  Cardinal  de  Retz,  and  even  to 
arrest  him,  dead  or  alive,  in  the  event  of  resistance  on  his 
part.  "  Louis." 

Divers  measures  were  immediately  taken  to  secure  the 
capture  of  the  obnoxious  prelate.  Spies  were  set  upon 
his  residence ;  efforts  were  made  to  bribe  his  servants  to 
betray  his  movements  ;  and  no  pains  were  spared  to  secure 
the  execution  of  the  arrest.  While  these  things  were 
taking  place,  M.  de  Retz  was  betrayed  by  his  vanity  into 
"   Louis  XIV.  et  son  Sieolo. 


THE     COCKI     O  F     FRA  N  C  E.  485 

a  folly  well  calculated  to  imbitter  still  more  the  virulence 
of  his  enemies.  M.  de  Brissac  having  upon  one  occasion 
asked  him  if  it  were  not  his  intention  to  ride  the  following 
day  to  Rambouillet,  and  receiving  an  affirmative  reply, 
drew  a  paper  from  his  pocket,  and  requested  him  to  glance 
at  its  contents.  It  was  an  anonymous  note,  addressed  to 
himself,  begging  him  to  caution  the  cardinal  against  the 
proposed  journey,  and  asserting  the  consequences  of  such 
a  step  would  be  fatal.  M.  de  Retz  was  not,  however,  to 
be  turned  from  his  purpose  ;  but  he  took  the  precaution  to 
be  accompanied  by  two  hundred  gentlemen,  with  whom  he 
gayly  set  forth  for  Rambouillet.  He  states  that  he  found 
there  numerous  officers  of  the  guards,  and  does  not  know 
if  their  intention  were  to  attack  him,  as  he  was  not  in  a 
position  to  be  attacked  ;  but  that  they  saluted  him  most 
reverentially,  and  that  he  entered  into  conversation  with 
those  with  whom  he  was  acquainted,  and  afterward  re- 
turned home  as  quietly  as  though  he  had  not  committed  a 
folly. 

He  still,  however,  remained  self-exiled  from  the  court, 
until  he  was  reproached  by  Madame  de  Lesdiguieres,  his 
cousin  (who  was  a  favorite  of  the  queen,  and  greatly  in 
her  confidence,  and  in  whose  perfect  good  faith  he  himself 
placed  the  utmost  confidence),  with  his  persistence  in  a  line 
of  conduct  which  she  declared  would  inevitably  draw  upon 
him  a  disgrace  that  he  should  be  most  anxious  to  avert, 
and  who  strongly  advised  him  to  make  his  appearance  at 
the  Louvre,  which  he  might  in  all  security. 

M.  de  Retz  admitted  the  propriety  of  this  measure,  but 
demurred  as  to  its  safety  ;  whereupon  she  inquired  if  that 
were  the  only  consideration  which  deterred  him,  and  he 
frankly  confessed  that  it  was.  In  that  case,  she  said,  she 
trusted  that  he  would  go  to  the  palace  the  next  day,  as  she 
knew  that  a  secret  council  had  been  held,  at  which,  after 
great  opposition,  it  was  resolved  that  a  reconciliation  should 
be  effected  with  him,  and  that  he  should  even  receive  what 


486  LOUIS     XIV.      A  N  D 

he  had  demanded  for  his  friends.  M.  de  Retz  admits,  al- 
though the  result  of  his  compliance  with  this  dangerous 
advice  proved  so  unfortunate,  that  he  never  entertained 
the  slightest  suspicion  that  he  was  willfully  deceived  by 
Madame  de  Lesdiguieres,  whom  he  believed  to  have  been 
misled  by  the  Marshal  de  Villeroy.  Be  that  as  it  may, 
however,  it  is  certain  that  on  the  morrow  when  he  entered 
the  queen's  ante-chamber,  he  was  arrested  by  M.  de  Ville- 
quier,  who  was  the  captain  of  the  guard  on  duty.  He 
was  then  conducted  through  the  great  gallery  of  the  Lou- 
vre ;  and  having  descended  by  the  pavilion  of  Mademoi- 
selle, found  one  of  the  royal  carriages  awaiting  him,  into 
which  M.  de  Villequier  and  five  or  six  officers  of  the  body- 
guard entered  along  with  him.  The  escort  was  composed 
of  the  Marshal  d'Albert  at  the  head  of  the  gendarmes  ;  M. 
de  Vaugauion  at  the  head  of  the  light-horse,  and  M.  de 
Venne,  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  guards,  in  command  of 
eight  companies  of  his  corps.  In  order  to  reach  the  Porte 
St.  Antoine,  the  prisoner  was  compelled  to  pass  two  or 
three  other  barriers,  at  each  of  which  was  posted  a  bat- 
talion of  Swiss,  with  their  arms  leveled  toward  the  town  ; 
and  finally,  between  eight  and  nine  in  the  evening,  he  found 
himself  at  Vincennes,  where  he  was  ushered  into  a  spa- 
cious and  dreary  apartment,  without  either  hangings  or 
bed ;  and  he  remained  for  a  fortnight,  in  the  middle  of 
December,  without  fire.* 

This  arrest  produced  a  great  sensation,  although  the 
populace,  worn  out  by  such  constantly  succeeding  catas- 
trophes, contented  itself  by  weeping  over  the  fate  of  their 
beloved  archbishop,  instead  of  attempting  his  rescue.  His 
friends  were,  however,  less  passive ;  and,  dreading  that  in 
order  to  disembarrass  themselves  of  him  quietly,  the  court 
might  seek  to  dispose  of  him  by  poison,  they  held  a  coun- 
cil to  devise  some  method  of  conveying  an  antidote  to  his 
prison.  Madame  de  Lesdiguieres,  who  looked  upon  her- 
*  Memoires  du  Cardinal  de  Retz. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  487 

self,  with  reason,  as  the  primary  cause  of  his  arrest,  under- 
took to  affect  this ;  and  Villequier,  who  had  conducted 
him  to  Vincennes,  being  her  devoted  friend,  she  requested 
him  to  take  charge  of  a  jar  containing  an  opiate-paste,  and 
to  give  it  from  her  to  the  cardinal.  Villequier  consented  ; 
but  as  he  was  about  to  execute  the  commission,  he  sud- 
denly deemed  it  expedient  to  secure  the  permission  of  the 
queen,  who  had  no  sooner  learned  the  circumstance  than 
she  desired  that  the  jar  might  be  brought  to  her;  and 
having  caused  its  contents  to  be  analyzed  by  a  chemist, 
thus  learned  their  nature.  Extremely  indignant  at  the 
suspicion  implied  by  such  a  precaution,  she  immediately 
communicated  the  circumstance  to  the  ministers,  upon 
which  one  of  them  proposed  that  an  actual  poison  should 
be  substituted  for  the  antidote  ;  but  M.  Letellier  formally 
refused  to  recognize  such  a  proceeding,  and  the  council 
ultimately  contented  themselves  with  retaining  the  jar  and 
its  contents.* 

The  arrest  of  M.  de  Retz  terminated  the  second  war  of 
the  Fronde ;  and  Mazarin  only  awaited  its  accomplish- 
ment to  return  to  Paris.  Let  it  not  be  imagined,  howev- 
er, that  he  prepared  to  do  so  quietly ;  and  to  be  permitted 
to  regain  the  capital  on  sufferance.  He  was  too  able  a 
tactician  to  forget  that  the  French  were  an  impulsive  peo- 
ple— that  their  watchword  was  "  glory" — and  he  had  con- 
sequently been  smoothing  his  backward  path  by  effecting 
a  succession  of  petty  conquests  over  the  forces  of  M.  de 
Conde  and  his  allies ;  to  which  end  he  left  St.  Dizier  two 
days  previously  to  the  imprisonment  of  M.  de  Retz,  and 
joined  the  troops  then  besieging  Bar-le-Duc,  who  ulti- 
mately retook  the  town.  After  Bar-le-Duc,  Ligny  surren- 
dered ;  and  then  the  cardinal,  in  order  that  his  reappear- 
ance might  be  heralded  by  victory,  endeavored  to  regain 
St.  Menehould  and  Rethel ;  the  severe  cold,  however,  pre- 
vented this  ;  and  he  was  compelled  to  content  himself  with 
*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


488  LOUIS     XIV.     AND. 

the  capture  of  Chateau-Porcian,  and  Vervins,  whence  the 
Spaniards  retreated  under  the  Count  de  Fuensaldagne, 
without  attempting  any  resistance.  After  these  exploits, 
Mazarin  knew  enough  of  the  mutable  materials  of  a  Paris- 
ian mob  to  feel  that  he  might  return,  not  only  in  all  safety, 
but  also  in  al!  honor,  to  the  Louvre  ;  and  in  fact  the  king 
drove  three  leagues  beyond  the  walls  to  welcome  him ; 
while  even  this  demonstration,  flattering  as  it  was,  did  not 
satisfy  the  courtiers,  who  rode  forward  as  far  as  Damartin. 

The  cardinal-minister  entered  the  gates  of  Paris  in  tri- 
umph, seated  beside  his  sovereign  and  pupil ;  bonfires 
blazed  and  fireworks  were  exhibited  in  his  honor;  and 
amid  all  these  rejoicings  there  were  but  few  in  the  capi- 
tal that  night  who  thought  upon  their  "  shivered  idols" — 
M.  de  Conde,  the  Duke  de  Beaufort,  and  the  Cardinal  de 
Retz. 

During  the  year  1652,  which  we  have  now  traced  to 
its  close,  the  most  note-worthy  deaths  were  those  of  the 
Duke  de  Bouillon,  who  having  deserted  the  Fronde  to 
become  the  friend  of  Mazarin,  did  not  live  to  reap  the  re- 
ward of  his  apostasy  ;  the  veteran  Marshal  Caumont  de  la 
Force,*  who  had  escaped  almost  by  a  miracle  at  the  mas- 
sacre of  St.  Bartholomew;  and  the  beautiful  Mademoiselle 

*  James  Nompar  de  Caumont,  Duke  de  la  Force,  whose  family  could 
be  traced  back  to  the  11th  century,  was  the  son  of  Francis,  Lord  of 
La  Force,  who  was  killed  during  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew. 
He  bore  arms  in  the  Protestant  army  of  Henry  IV.,  and  placed  himself 
at  the  head  of  the  reformers  under  Louis  XIII.  He  gave  in  his  sub- 
mission to  that  king  in  1622,  and  was  ci-eated  Marshal  of  France,  and 
lieutenant-general  of  the  forces  in  Piedmont.  He  took  Pignerol ;  de- 
feated the  Spaniards  at  Carignan  in  1630 ;  passed  over  into  Germany, 
where  he  took  possession  of  several  towns  ;  and  finally  died  as  we  have 
stated,  in  1652.  He  was  the  grandfather  of  Charlotte  Rose  de  Cau- 
mont de  la  Force,  bom  in  1650,  who  devoted  her  life  to  the  cultivation 
of  literature,  and  obtained  a  place  among  the  historians  of  the  17th 
century.  She  died  in  1724,  leaving  behind  her  the  Secret  History  of 
Burgundy,  the  History  of  Marguerite  de  Valois,  The  Fairies,  the  Tale 
of  Tales,  the  Castle  in  Spain.  Gustavus  Vasa,  &c. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  489 

de  Chevreuse,  who  was  carried  off  by  a  fever  in  four-and- 
twenty  hours,  a  short  time  previously  to  the  disgrace  of 
M.  de  Retz. 

In  this  year,  also,  a  marriage  was  contracted  which, 
although  regarded  at  the  time  as  a  mere  jest  for  the  wits 
of  the  court,  was  destined  to  influence  in  a  powerful  man- 
ner the  close  of  the  brilliant  reign  which  we  are  now  re- 
cording. It  was  in  1652  that  the  poet  Scarron*  married 
Frances  d'Aubigny,  the  granddaughter  of  the  celebrated 
Theodore  Agrippa  d'Aubigny,  who,  at  the  age  of  six  years, 
read  the  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew  languages;  and  at  that 
of  thirteen  embraced  the  military  profession  ;  fought  under 
the  Prince  de  Conde,  and  afterward  accepted  service  with 
Henry  of  Navarre  (subsequently  Henry  IV.),  whose  friend 
and  confidant  he  became ;  and  who  appointed  him  suc- 
cessively a  gentleman  of  the  chamber,  a  general  of  brigade, 
and  ultimately  Vice- Admiral  of  Guienne  and  Brittany.  He 
was  the  author  of  several  works ;  and  among  others,  of  a 
Universal  History,  from  1550  (the  year  of  his  birth)  to  1601. 
The  father  of  Frances  was  Constant  d'Aubigny,  Baron  de 
Surimeau  ;  who  having,  without  the  consent  of  his  parent, 
married  Anne  Marchand,  the  widow  of  John  Courant, 
Baron  de  Chatellaillon,  and  surprised  her  in  an  act  of 
infidelity,  murdered  both  her  and  her  lover,  and  took  as 

*  Paul  Scan-on  was  the  son  of  a  councilor  to  the  parliament,  and 
was  born  in  Paris,  in  1610  or  1611.  He  assumed  the  ecclesiastical 
habit,  but  without  entering  into  any  religious  order ;  and  was  devoted 
to  all  the  pleasures  of  his  age,  when  a  deplorable  accident  suddenly 
deprived  him,  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven,  of  the  use  of  his  limbs. 
Confined  by  his  sufferings  to  an  easy  chair,  he  nevertheless  preserved 
throughout  all  his  privations  his  brilliant,  lively,  and  sarcastic  wit;  and 
his  sick-chamber  became  the  rendezvous  of  the  most  distinguished  men 
of  all  ranks.  He  was  the  originator  of  burlesque  poetry.  His  princi- 
pal productions  were  the  Eniide  Travestie,  Typhon,  or  La  Giganto- 
machie  ;  and  several  comedies,  such  as  Don  Japhet  of  Armenia,  and  the 
Absurd  Heir;  but  his  most  celebrated  work  was  the  Comic  Novel,  ID 
prose.  All  these  writings  were  distinguished  by  perpetual  sullies  of 
wit  and  whimsicality,  and  breathe  the  most  exuberant  gayety. 

X* 


490  l.  u  d  ia    \  i  v.    a  n  d 

his  second  wife  Jane  de  Cardillac,  daughter  of  the  gov- 
ernor of  Chateau- Trompette.  who  bore  him  a  son,  and 
subsequently  Frances,  the  celebrated  Madame  de  Main- 
tenon. 

BllSSJ-Robutin,  who,  notwithstanding  his  vanity  and  self- 
appreciation,  never  could  overcome  his  jealousy  of  those 
who  achieved  their  own  fortunes,  or  who  had  "  greatness 
thrust  upon  them,"  indulges,  in  his  most  popular  work,  in 
some  scandalous  anecdotes  of  the  early  years  of  this  lady, 
with  which  we  have  no  intention  to  sully  our  pages,  and  to 
which  we  only  advert  from  a  principle  of  duty  as  faithful 
historians  ;  neither  shall  we  precisely  follow  the  narrative 
which  Madame  de  Maintenon  has  herself  given  in  her 
Memoirs  of  her  girlish  recollections;  for,  correct  as  they 
may  be  in  their  general  outline,  it  is  easy  to  discover  that 
they  are  recorded  with  considerable  reservation,  and  that 
a  doubtful  light  is  thrown  over  many  circumstances  from 
which  time  and  the  evidence  of  her  cotemporaries  have  re- 
moved the  varnish  of  self-love. 

Frances  d'Aubigny  was  born  on  the  27th  of  November, 
1635,  in  the  prison  of  Xiort,*  where  her  father,  who  had 
rendered  himself  amenable  to  justice,  was  incarcerated. 
Her  mother,  who  was  at  once  amiable  and  high-spirited, 
was,  as  we  have  already  stated,  the  daughter  of  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  Chateau-Trompette,  in  which  the  noble  pris- 
oner was  expiating  the  crime  of  murder;  and  unable  to 
resist  the  fascination  of  his  manners,  and,  moreover,  con- 
vinced by  the  arguments  which  he  advanced  in  extenuation 
of  his  delinquency,  she  was  at  length  induced  to  credit  his 
assertion  that  he  valued  life  only  for  her  sake,  and  desired 
his  liberty  solely  that  he  might  devote  it  to  her  happiness  ; 
and  thus  consented  to  effect  his  escape,  and  to  fly  with  him, 

*  N'iort  is  a  handsome  city,  situated  10S  leagues  from  Paris,  and  is 
the  capital  of  the  deparnnent  of  the  Deux-Sevres.  The  chateau  has 
been  converted  into  a  prison;  and  the  ancient  palace  of  Eleonora  of 
Aquitain  now  serves  as  its  towD-hall. 


T  H  L     COURT      <-r      FRANCE.  491 

provided  he  would  pledge  himself  to  make  her  his  wife  at 
the  earliest  opportunity.  To  thb  he  readily  agreed  ;  and, 
through  her  means,  his  evasion  was  effected,  and  his  pledge 
soon  afterward  fulfilled. 

The  money  which  Madame  d'Aubigny  was  enabled  to 
raise  upon  her  jewels  sufficed  for  a  time  to  their  mutual 
support ;  but  she  had  scarcely  become  the  mother  of  a  son, 
when  Monsieur  d'Aubigny  found  that  they  were  utterly 
without  the  means  of  existence  ;  aud,  unable  to  support  the 
sight  of  his  heroic  wife  and  his  infant  boy  deprived  even  of 
the  most  common  necessaries  of  life,  he  resolved  to  risk  a 
return  to  France,  and  to  endeavor  to  save  some  remnant  of 
his  former  wealth,  upon  which,  with  strict  economy,  thev 
might  contrive  to  exist.  As  he  was  thoroughly  aware  of 
the  hazardous  nature  of  the  attempt,  he  left  his  wife  with- 
out communicating  his  project,  which  he  only  confided  to 
her  by  letter,  at  the  cluse  of  his  first  day's  journey.  The 
terror  of  the  devoted  lady  was  intense,  for  she  idolized  the 
man  for  whom  she  suffered;  and  her  alarm  was  only  too 
well  founded.  M.  d'Aubigny  was  recognized,  seized,  and 
once  more  conveyed  as  a  prisoner  to  the  castle  of  Niort. 
The  agonized  wife  at  once  felt  that  a  second  evasion  was 
impossible  ;  but  her  love  and  her  conscience  alike  showed 
her  that,  if  she  could  not  once  more  effect  his  liberty,  she 
could  at  least  share  and  lighten  his  captivity  ;  and  she  ac- 
cordinglv  set  forth,  in  weak  health  and  with  a  burdened 
heart,  to  become  the  partner  of  his  prison. 

The  family  of  M.  d'Aubigny,  revolted  alike  by  his  pre- 
vious crime,  and  by  his  second  marriage,  had  all  abandon- 
ed him,  save  his  sister,  Madame  de  Villette ;  and  the  birth 
of  a  second  child  having  taken  place  in  the  gloomy  jail  to 
which  his  errors  had  consigned  him,  this  lady  hastened  to 
offer  the  consolation  of  her  presence  to  the  unhappy  pair. 
The  condition  in  which  she  found  them  was  deplorable ; 
poverty  and  destitution  met  her  on  all  sides ;  and  to  so  ex- 
treme a  state  of  misery  were  they  reduced,  that  Madame 


492  I,  O  U  I  S      XI  V.     A  N  D 

d'Aubigny,  whom  anxiety  and  deprivation  had  reduced  to 
a  degree  of  weakness  which  rendered  her  unable  to  afford 
nourishment  to  her  infant  of  two  days  old,  was  anticipating 
every  hour  that  she  should  see  it  expire  in  her  arms  ;  while 
crouched  at  her  feet  lay  her  first-born,  her  boy,  literally 
wrapped  in  rags,  and  already  old  enough  to  be  conscious 
of  his  misery. 

Madame  de  Villette,  unable  to  endure  so  painful  a  spec- 
tacle, after  having  afforded  to  her  brother  and  his  wretched 
wife  every  assistance  in  her  power,  took  possession  of  the 
suffering  child,  and  carried  it  home  with  her  to  the  Chateau 
de  Murcey,  where  it  passed  its  infancy;  but,  at  the  close 
of  that  period,  the  prisoner  having  obtained  permission  to 
return  to  the  Chateau-Trompette,  he  hastened  to  reclaim 
his  daughter. 

In  1639  his  imprisonment  concluded ;  but  as  he  would 
not  abjure  Calvinism,  Richelieu  refused  to  allow  him  to 
remain  in  France,  and  he  consequently  embarked  for  Mar- 
tinique. During  the  passage  Frances  was  taken  seriously 
ill,  and  the  sickness  made  such  rapid  progress  that  in  the 
short  space  of  a  few  hours  she  was  declared  to  have  expir- 
ed ;  when  one  of  the  crew  of  the  vessel,  anxious,  as  sail- 
ors proverbially  show  themselves,  to  rid  the  ship  of  a  dead 
body,  lifted  the  child  in  his  arms  in  order  to  throw  her 
overboard  ;  upon  which  the  wretched  mother  implored  the 
privilege  of  one  more  parting  embrace,  and,  as  she  strain- 
ed the  infant  to  her  heart,  felt  a  slight  movement,  which 
convinced  her  that  the  hapless  girl  still  lived.  In  this  con- 
viction she  was  strengthened  by  the  observation  of  every 
succeeding  moment ;  and  ultimately  her  maternal  tender- 
ness recalled  the  fleeting  faculties  of  the  predestined  Fran- 
ces. Thenceforward  M.  d'Aubigny  devoted  himself  en- 
tirely to  the  education  of  his  children;  while  Madame 
d'Aubigny,  with  the  strong  good  sense  and  resolution 
which  had  characterized  all  her  married  life,  exerted  her- 
self so  strenuously  in  the  management  of  the  slender  funds 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  493 

which  they  had  been  enabled  to  secure  on  their  departure, 
that  prosperity  once  more  dawned  upon  the  exiled  family. 
Rendered  sanguine  by  this  success,  her  husband  conceived 
the  unfortunate  idea  of  sending  her  back  to  France,  to  re- 
cover, should  it  be  possible,  some  portion  of  his  sequester- 
ed estates  ;  and  she  obeyed  him,  as  she  had  ever  done,  with 
cheerful  alacrity;  but,  during  her  absence,  M.  d'Aubigny, 
anxious  to  force  fortune,  was  induced  to  gamble  ;  and  when 
she  returned,  unsuccessful,  to  report  the  inutility  of  her 
voyage,  she  found  him  once  more  a  ruined  man. 

Overwhelmed  by  poverty,  regret,  and  hopelessness,  Con- 
stant d'Aubigny,  in  1645,  sunk  into  a  foreign  and  ignoble 
grave;  and  in  such  an  utter  state  of  destitution  did  he  leave 
his  widow  that,  when  she  resolved  upon  returning  to  Eu- 
rope, she  was  compelled  to  resign  her  daughter  as  a  pledge 
into  the  hands  of  her  principal  creditor,  who,  however,  be- 
coming weary  of  supporting  the  poor  child  without  any 
probable  prospect  of  remuneration,  embarked  her  on  board 
a  French  vessel,  without  even  intimating  his  intention  to 
Madame  d'Aubigny,  who  learned  her  arrival  at  La  Rochelle, 
while  she  believed  her  to  be  still  in  Martinique.  As  her 
poverty  had  experienced  no  diminution,  the  unhappy  lady 
reluctantly  acceded  to  the  proposal  of  Madame  de  Villelte, 
that  her  daughter  should  once  more  become  her  inmate ; 
for,  like  her  brother,  she  was  a  Calvinist,  and  the  mother 
trembled  lest  the  aunt  should  tamper  with  the  religion  of 
her  child ;  nor  were  her  fears  groundless,  as  in  a  short  time 
Frances  adopted  the  creed  of  her  protectors. 

She  had  been  baptized  by  a  Romanist  priest ;  and  her 
sponsors  were  the  Duke  Francis  de  la  Rochefoucauld,  and 
Frances  Tirequeau,  Countess  de  Neuillant,  who  was  attach- 
ed to  the  household  of  Anne  of  Austria,  and  who  no  soon- 
er learned  the  apostasy  of  her  god-child,  than  she  obtained 
an  order  to  remove  her  from  the  house  of  her  relative  and 
to  assume  her  guardianship.  This  accomplished,  every 
effort  was  made  to  induce  the  young  Calvinist  to  return  to 


494  LOUIS     XIV.      A  N  D 

her  oritrinal  faith  ;  but  neither  threats,  exhortations,  nor 
menaces  had  power  to  shake  her  principles  ;  and  thus  she, 
who  was  one  day  to  cause  the  revocation  of  the  Edict 
of  Nantes,  began  life  as  the  martyr  of  that  religion  of 
which  she  was  destined  subsequently  to  become  the 
scourge.* 

The  youth  of  the  after-queen  was  cruel.  At  three  years 
of  age  she  crossed  the  Atlantic  with  her  parents,  who  knew 
not  how  soon  they  might  want  bread ;  and,  at  eleven,  she 
returned  to  France  alone,  and  surrounded  by  strangers, 
only  to  find  herself,  after  a  brief  interval  of  ease  and  affec- 
tion, still  more  unhappy  and  more  persecuted  than  ever; 
for  when  Madame  de  Neuillant  found  her  invulnerable  to 
persuasion,  and  firm  in  the  new  faith  which  she  had  adopt- 
ed, there  was  no  species  of  humiliation  to  which  she  did 
not  expose  her.  The  most  petty  cares  of  the  household 
devolved  upon  the  young  Frances ;  she  measured  out  the 
oats  for  the  horses;  summoned  the  servants  when  their 
services  were  required,  bells  being  at  that  period  unknown; 
and,  as  the  countess  was  hypereconomical  in  all  that  re- 
garded her  establishment,  frequently  suffered  both  from 
cold  and  hunger.  At  length  her  mother,  who  could  no 
longer  endure  the  sight  of  her  despondency,  reclaimed  her 
in  her  turn,  and  placed  her  in  the  Ursuline  convent  at 
Niort.  But,  when  there,  neither  Madame  de  Neuillant, 
whom  she  had  quitted,  nor  Madame  de  Villette,  who  dread- 
ed her  relapse  to  Romanism,  would  consent  to  pay  her 
board  ;  and,  finally,  conquered  by  necessity,  after  having 
received  the  assurance  of  the  confessor  that,  despite  her 
heresy,  her  aunt,  to  whom  she  was  fondly  attached, 
might  still  be  saved,  she  once  more  embraced  the  Catholic 
faith. 

The  Ursuline  nuns,  proud  of  the  conversion  which  had 
been  accomplished  under  their  roof,  kept  her  in  the  com- 
munity for  another  year  ;  but,  finding  that  her  friends  still 
*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siocle. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  495 

remained  inexorable,  they  declined  any  longer  to  aTord 
her  shelter ;  and  she  returned  to  share  the  poverty  of  her 
heart-broken  mother  only  in  time  to  see  her  die  a  death  of 
misery  and  despair.  For  three  months  after  this  fatal  event 
the  helpless  orphan  remained  shut  up  in  the  squalid  apart- 
ment in  which  she  had  thus  been  left  destitute,  without  an 
effort  or  a  wish  to  survive  her  lost  parent,  indebted  to  the 
charity  of  her  neighbors  for  the  pittance  of  bread  by  which 
she  was  kept  alive,  and  without  a  caie  or  a  thought  for  the 
future.  Her  extreme  destitution  at  length  touched  the 
heart  of  Madame  de  Neuillant,  who  placed  her  once  more 
with  the  Ursulines ;  but,  on  her  departure  for  Paris,  re- 
moved her  to  her  own  house  in  the  same  subordinate  posi- 
tion as  before. 

Among  the  friends  of  the  countess  was  the  Marquis  de 
Villarceaux,  who  was  struck  by  the  beauty  of  the  desolate 
girl,  of  whom  he  in  vain  endeavored  to  make  his  mistress ; 
for,  oppressed  as  she  was,  Frances  d'Aubigny  was  too 
right-minded  to  encourage  the  addresses  of  a  libertine. 
Nor  was  the  profligate  marquis  the  only  person  attracted 
by  her  loveliness  ;  for  the  Chevalier  de  Mere,  who  enjoyed 
the  reputation  of  being  a  man  of  intellect  and  taste,  having 
first  paid  homage  to  her  personal  charms,  soon  learned  to 
appreciate  the  intelligence  from  which  they  derived  their 
greatest  fascination  ;  and  becoming  attached,  with  all  the 
anxious  tenderness  of  a  brother,  to  the  handsome  Creole, 
took  considerable  pains  to  form  her  manners,  and  to  ena- 
ble her  hereafter  to  appear  advantageously  in  society. 
Grateful  as  she  was,  however,  for  all  the  interest  which  the 
chevalier  evinced  in  her  fate,  the  young  girl  only  shook  her 
head  with  a  sad  smile,  when  he  ventured  upon  some  flat- 
tering prophecy  of  her  future  existence  ;  declaring  that  all 
she  desired  in  this  world  was  to  meet  with  some  good 
Christian  who  would  be  charitable  enough  to  pay  the  re- 
quired dowry  for  her  entrance  into  a  convent. 

The  poet  Scarron  inhabited  the  same  street  as  Madame 


496  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

cle  Neuillant ;  and,  poor  as  he  was,  occasionally  indulged 
in  some  of  those  good  deeds  which  are  so  frequently  ne- 
glected, and  even  ridiculed,  by  the  wealthy ;  a  fact  so  well 
known  to  M.  de  Mere,  that  he  seized  an  opportunity  of 
mentioning  to  him  the  position  and  wishes  of  his  protegee-', 
a  tale  which  so  deeply  interested  the  infirm  invalid,  that  he 
eagerly  promised  to  procure  contributions  from  his  friends, 
and  to  supply  any  deficiency  from  his  own  purse,  to  enable 
the  orphan  to  effect  her  purpose.  Delighted  by  his  suc- 
cess, the  chevalier  hastened  to  communicate  these  good 
tidings  to  the  persecuted  girl,  who,  in  the  joy  of  her  heart, 
hurried  to  the  residence  of  Scarron  to  pour  forth  her  grati- 
tude ;  a  step  which  was  destined  to  change  the  whole  cur- 
rent of  her  fate. 

Mademoiselle  d'Aubigny,  when  she  entered  the  apart- 
ment of  Scarron,  was  conscious  only  of  the  weighty  obli- 
gation which  his  ready  sympathy  had  entailed  upon  her, 
and  paid  little  attention  to  his  grotesque  and  somewhat  re- 
volting appearance.  Her  first  impulse  was  to  rush  toward 
him,  and  to  raise  his  hand  to  her  lips  ;  and  several  minutes 
had  elapsed  ere  she  had  time  to  discover  that  she  stood  be- 
side a  man  who,  although  still  young,  was  contorted  in  the 
most  extraordinary  manner.  His  limbs  were  wasted  and 
feeble,  his  large  eyes  buried  deeply  in  his  head,  his  teeth 
black  and  irregular,  and  his  expression,  save  when  illumin- 
ed by  a  flash  of  that  joyous  intellect  which  was,  however, 
the  light  in  which  he  lived,  languid  and  suffering.  No 
man,  perhaps,  ever  endured  more  sharp  physical  suffering 
than  Scarron,  with  so  resolute  a  mental  defiance  as  he  ex- 
hibited. 

A  moment  sufficed  to  betray  all  this  to  the  rapid  eye  of 
the  tearful  orphan,  but  those  very  tears  blinded  her  to  the 
most  salient  points  of  the  picture.  She  saw  Scarron,  it  is 
true;  Scarron  the  cripple — Scarron  the  paralytic — Scarron 
the  buffoon — but  to  her  he  was  a  benefactor,  a  friend,  a 
deliverer ;  and    she   could   more  readily  have   wept   over 


THE     COURT     OP     FRANCE.  497 

his  affliction  than  smiled  at  the  eccentricity  of  his  appear- 
ance. 

Meanwhile  the  dark  and  deep-set  eyes  of  Scarron  were 
not  idle.  With  the  cynicism  of  the  period,  he  had  no 
sooner  heard  of  a  "  vocation,"  than  he  believed  that  the 
girl  of  fifteen  by  whom  it  was  announced,  must  have  felt  a 
conviction  that  her  appearance  was  not  calculated  to  assist 
her  progress  in  the  world  ;  instead  of  which  he  saw  before 
him  a  face  beaming  with  expression,  and  a  figure  fashioned 
in  the  most  exact  symmetry  which  a  sculptor  might  have 
desired  in  a  model.  Thus  impressed,  a  cheerful  smile 
diffused  itself  over  his  countenance,  as  he  declared  that, 
upon  mature  reflection,  he  recalled  his  promise,  and  could 
not  undertake  to  procure  the  means  for  her  admission  into 
a  religious  community. 

The  disappointed  girl  uttered  a  cry  of  grief. 

"  Listen  to  me,"  said  Scarron ;  "  you  are  not  fitted  for  a 
nun.  You  can  not  understand  the  extent  of  the  sacrifice 
which  you  are  so  eager  to  make.  Will  you  become  my 
wife  1  My  servants  anger  and  neglect  me,  and  I  am  un- 
able to  enforce  obedience ;  were  they  under  the  control  of 
a  mistress  they  would  do  their  duty.  My  friends  neglect 
me,  and  I  can  not  pursue  them  to  reproach  them  with  their 
abandonment ;  if  they  saw  a  pretty  woman  at  the  head  of 
my  household,  they  would  make  my  home  cheerful.  I 
give  you  a  week  to  decide." 

This  extraordinary  wooing  prospered  ;  cripple  as  he 
was,  Scarron  was  popular  and  witty ;  the  first  shock  of  his 
appearance  had  been  softened  by  the  circumstances  under 
which  they  met;  and  at  the  close  of  the  given  period, 
Frances  d'Aubigny  consented  to  become  his  wife. 

Scarron  had  not  deceived  himself.  His  bride  had  no 
sooner  assumed  the  government  of  his  house  than  his  ser- 
vants returned  to  their  duty,  and  his  friends  to  their  alle- 
giance; his  saloon  became  the  center  of  all  that  was  witty 
and  intellectual  in  the  capital ;  and,  at  the  period  of  which 


498  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

we  write,  it  was  the  fashion  to  appear  in  his  circle.  Never 
theless,  great  difficulties  remained  to  be  overcome.  The 
war  of  the  Fronde  had  afforded  too  rich  and  too  tempting 
scope  for  the  wit  of  Scarron,  to  enable  him  to  remain  in 
the  neutrality  which  was  dictated  by  prudence;  and  a  con- 
siderable number  of  the  satires  which  had  appeared  against 
Mazarin  were  traced  to  the  caustic  pen  of  the  infirm  poet. 
This  fact  was,  moreover,  the  more  natural,  from  the  cir- 
cumstance that  the  pension  which  Anne  of  Austria  had 
conferred  upon  Scarron  in  consequence  of  his  infirmities, 
had  been  suppressed  by  the  minister,  who  became  thence- 
forward the  victim  of  his  satire. 

The  position  of  the  poet  on  the  triumphant  return  of  the 
cardinal  was,  consequently,  worse  than  precarious;  and 
Madame  Scarron,  after  having  succeeded  in  rendering  his 
home  happy,  found  herself  under  the  necessity  of  under- 
taking the  still  more  difficult  task  of  insuring  a  continuance 
of  the  comfort  which  she  had  already  shed  over  it.  Hers, 
however,  was  not  a  spirit  to  quail  under  such  a  task  ;  and 
she  forthwith  commenced  the  undertaking  of  reconciling 
her  husband  to  the  court,  with  an  energy  which  was  only 
equalled  by  her  good  sense.  She  had  united  herself  with 
a  being,  amiable,  it  is  true,  but  helpless,  incautious,  and 
improvident ;  who  perilled  his  future  existence  recklessly 
on  a  bon  mot,  and  could  not  be  made  to  comprehend  the 
extent  of  his  imprudence ;  but  the  reputation  of  both  her 
virtue  and  her  beauty  had  already  made  her  powerful 
friends,  among  whom  the  most  attached  were  Ninon  de 
l'Enclos,  and  Madame  de  Sevigne — the  two  extremes  of 
moral  society — th^  courtesan  and  the  prude;  one  of  whom 
valued  her  for  ,er  intellect,  and  the  other  for  her  repu- 
tation. 

The  numerous  applications  which  she  was  constrained 
to  make,  opened  to  Madame  Scarron  all  the  doors  in  Paris ; 
and  her  anxiety  to  prevent  the  banishment  of  her  husband 
developed  all  the  resources  of  her  mind,  and  all  the  charms 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  499 

of  her  eloquence.  She  was  ultimately  successful.  The 
political  offenses  of  the  poet  were  forgiven  hi  consideration 
of  his  infirmities ;  and  his  house  became  more  frequented 
and  more  popular  than  ever.* 

*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


CHAPTER  XXK. 

Proceedings  of  the  Prince  de  Conde — Position  of  Mazarin ;  his  first 
Measures — Marriage  of  the  Prince  de  Conti  and  Mademoiselle  Mar- 
tinozzi — Condemnation  of  the  Prince  de  Conde;  his  Retort — Marriage 
of  the  Duke  de  Richelieu  and  Mademoiselle  de  Beauvais — First  At- 
tachments of  Louis  XIV. — Madame  de  Frontenac  and  Madame  de 
Chatillon — Caution  of  the  Cardinal — Mademoiselle  d'Heudecourt — 
The  Nieces  of  the  Cardinal — Madame  de  Beauvais — Court  Festivi- 
ties— The  Etourdi  of  Moliere — Louis  XIV.  an  Actor  and  a  Dancer — 
The  Superintendent  Fouquet — The  Coronation  of  Louis  XIV. — The 
Marquis  de  Fabert — The  Coadjutor  becomes  Archbishop  of  Paris — 
M.  de  Bellievre  as  an  Ambassador — Transfer  of  the  Archbishop  to 
Nantes ;  his  Evasion  ;  Order  for  his  Arrest. 

After  this  long  but  necessary  digression,  we  hasten  to 
give  a  brief  glance  at  the  position  of  France  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  year  1653.  M.  de  Conde,  instead  of 
retiring  from  Paris,  might  have  made  his  peace  advanta- 
geously with  the  court,  who  would  readily  have  availed 


LOUIS  XIV.  AND  THE  COURT  OF  FRANCE.  501 

themselves  of  any  pretext  to  terminate  a  war  by  which  they 
were  at  once  harassed  and  impoverished  ;  but  after  havino- 
opposed  Turenne,  and  established  his  reputation  as  a  sol- 
dier, as  well  as  played  the  politician,  and  seen  himself  the 
idol  of  the  populace,  he  determined  to  enact  the  partisan  ; 
and  so  withdrew  from  the  capital  like  a  knight  of  ancient 
chivalry ;  girt  on  his  sword,  mounted  his  charger,  rallied 
around  him  all  those  who  were  attached  to  his  fortunes, 
caused  himself  to  be  appointed  generalissimo  of  the  Span- 
ish forces,  and  set  forth,  taking  on  his  way  the  towns 
which  Mazarin  afterward  reconquered  ;  until,  compelled 
to  retreat  before  Turenne,  he  ultimately  crossed  the  French 
frontier. 

The  first  care  of  the  cardinal,  after  his  final  return  to 
Paris,  was  given  to  the  state  of  the  public  finances,  which 
were  in  a  deplorable  condition  ;  and  to  his  own,  which  had 
also  suffered  considerably  by  recent  events.  All  was  tran- 
quil in  the  capital;  and  having  exerted  himself  strenuously 
in  the  reestablishment  of  his  private  fortunes,  Mazarin 
found  his  position  sufficiently  stable  to  enable  him  to  turn 
his  attention  to  the  advancement  of  his  family.  He  gath- 
ered his  relations  about  him  accordingly ;  and  felt  the 
greater  confidence  in  so  doing  that  the  court  had  become 
shorn  of  its  greatest  ornaments  by  the  result  of  the  war. 

The  Duke  d'Orleans  still  resided  at  Blois  in  a  position 
of  honorable  banishment,  where  he  held  a  court  twice  a 
week.  Mademoiselle,  when  she  withdrew  to  St.  Fargeau, 
carried  with  her  in  her  train  all  her  personal  friends  and 
ladies  of  honor;  M.  de  Conde  had  swept  away  not  only 
his  brilliant  staff,  but  also  the  ladies  who  were  attached  to 
his  party;  the  four  duchesses,  de  Chatillon,  de  Beaufort,  de 
Rohan,  and  de  Montbazon,  had  left  Paris;  all  the  friends 
of  the  Cardinal  de  Retz  were  exiled  ;  the  Duke  de  Mon- 
tausier*  and  his  wife  were  in  Guienne;  the  Duke  de  la 

"   Charles  du  St.  Maure,  Duke  de  Montausier,  Peer  of  France,  Knight 
,  of  the  Order  of  the  King,  was  the  descendant  of  a  family  of  toordne 


502  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

Rochefoucauld  still  convalescent  at  Dampvilliers ;  the 
Princess  de  Conde  and  the  Duchess  de  Longueville  at 
Bordeaux  ;  Madame  de  Chevreuse  remained  ;  in  short,  all 
the  most  celebrated  nobles  and  beauties  scattered  far  and 
wide ;  and  an  ample  field  left  vacant  for  the  handsome 
nieces  of  the  far-sighted  cardinal. 

Nor  had  Mazarin  great  cause  for  apprehension  from 
without.  Conde  had  taken  refuge  in  the  Low  Countries  ; 
and  the  one  cloud  upon  the  horizon  of  the  cardinal  con- 
sequently lowered  in  that  direction ;  but,  ere  long,  the 
princess  and  her  son  left  Bordeaux  to  join  the  prince,  as 
if  conscious  that  all  further  anticipation  of  successful  re- 
sistance was  at  an  end ;  the  Cardinal  de  Retz  was  a  fast 
prisoner;  and  Madame  de  Longueville,  following  the  ex- 
ample of  her  sister-in-law,  had  also  vacated  the  scene  of 
her  former  triumph,  and  retired  to  the  convent  of  St.  Mary 
at  Moulin,  of  which  one  of  her  relatives  was  the  abbess ; 
while  no  great  time  elapsed  ere  the  Duke  de  la  Roche- 
foucauld, thoroughly  sated  with  faction,  and  the  evil  chances 
of  civil  war,  began  to  make  overtures  of  reconciliation  to 
the  court  ;  being  desirous  to  effect  the  marriage  of  his  son, 
the  Prince  de  Marsillac,  with  Mademoiselle  de  la  Roche- 
Guyon,  the  heiress  of  the  house  of  Duplessis-Liancourt. 

In  order  to  effect  his  purpose,  the  duke  sent  Gourville,* 

and  early  distinguished  himself  by  his  valor  and  high  character.  During 
the  civil  wars  of  the  Fronde  he  was  Governor  of  Saintonge  and  Angou- 
mois,  both  of  which  he  maintained  in  their  allegiance.  His  austere 
probity  caused  him  to  be  selected  to  preside  over  the  education  of 
Louis,  the  Dauphin  of  France.  He  died  in  1690,  leaving  by  his  wife, 
Lucy  d'Angennes,  an  only  daughter,  who  married  the  Duke  d'Uzes. 

*  John  Heraud  de  Gourville  was  bora  in  La  Rochefoucauld  in  1625. 
The  Duke  de  la  Rochefoucauld  having  discovered  him  to  be  a  man  of 
intelligence,  made  him  his  valet-de-chambre,  and  afterward  his  confi- 
dential friend.  Involved  in  the  disgrace  of  Fouquet,  with  whom  he 
was  on  terms  of  intimacy,  he  traveled  for  some  time  abroad.  He  was 
afterward  the  king's  envoy  in  Germany ;  and  was  ultimately  proposed 
as  the  successor  of  Colbert  in  the  ministry.  He  died  at  Paris  in  1703  ; 
and  left  behind  him  Memoirs  from  the  vear  1642  to  that  of  1698. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  503 

his  confidential  agent  at  Brussels,  to  ask  the  consent  of  the 
Prince  de  Conde  to  this  marriage ;  but  as  Gourville  had 
made  himself  conspicuous  during  the  Fronde,  and  had, 
moreover,  recently  taken  prisoner  the  director  of  the  posts, 
who  only  regained  his  liberty  by  paying  a  ransom  of  forty 
thousand  crowns,  the  cardinal-minister  never  lost  sight  of 
his  movements  ;  and  having  ascertained  that  he  was  for  the 
moment  in  Paris,  instantly  resolved  that  he  should  not  again 
leave  it. 

Gourville  was  not  long  ere  he  ascertained  that  his  arrival 
had  been  detected,  and,  without  an  instant's  hesitation,  he 
resolved  to  brave  the  danger  to  which  he  was  exposed,  by 
requesting  an  audience  of  Mazarin ;  and,  accordingly,  to 
the  surprise  of  the  minister,  who  had  just  issued  an  order 
for  his  capture,  he  found  himself  about  to  be  confronted, 
not  with  a  prisoner,  but  with  an  envoy.  Delighted  by  such 
a  display  of  courageous  presence  of  mind,  the  cardinal  at 
once  accorded  the  intei'view  which  Gourville  had  solicited  ; 
and,  ere  it  terminated,  so  justly  appreciated  the  moral 
qualities  of  the  clever  and  fearless  agent,  that  he  made 
proposals  to  him,  which  were  accepted ;  and  while  he 
attached  to  his  own  service  the  intellect  and  adroitness 
which  had  elicited  his  admiration,  Gourville  effected  the 
reconciliation  of  the  duke  with  the  court,  which  entailed 
the  entire  pacification  of  Guienne ;  and  by  his  intermedia- 
tion, a  peace  was  definitely  concluded  between  Mazarin 
and  the  city  of  Bordeaux.* 

This  great  object  accomplished,  the  cardinal  resolved  to 

strengthen  and  sustain  the  position  which  he  had   again 

acquired,  by  marrying  his  nieces  to  the  most  influential 

personages  of  the  court;  and,  accordingly,  profiting  by  a 

!  new  misunderstanding  which  had  arisen  between  the  Prince 

j  de  Conti  and  his  brother,  he  determined  to  profit  by  so 

!  favorable  an  opportunity  to  attach  the  former  to  his  own 

interests  ;  and  for  this  purpose  he  gained  over  a  confiden- 

*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


504  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

tial  friend  of  M.  de  Conti,  to  whom  he  promised  the  sum 
of  twenty-five  thousand  livres,  should  he  succeed  in  effect- 
ing a  marriage  between  the  prince  and  one  of  his  nieces. 
The  moment  was,  as  the  wily  minister  had  seen,  well 
chosen  ;  for,  at  once  jealous  and  indignant,  M.  de  Conti 
received  the  pi'oposition  without  repugnance,  only  stipu- 
lating that  he  should  be  free  to  select  whichever  of  the 
ladies  he  might  prefer;  and  this  point  having  been  con- 
ceded, to  the  great  mortification  of  Mazarin  the  prince 
fixed  upon  Anna-Maria  Martinozzi,  who  was  all  but  affi- 
anced to  the  Duke  de  Candale;  who,  on  his  side,  had 
been  reluctantly  led  to  contemplate  the  alliance  of  which 
he  was  still,  under  one  pretext  or  another,  deferring  the 
completion,  when  he  was  startled  to  find  his  offered  bride 
freely  selected  by  a  prince  of  the  blood. 

It  will  readily  be  believed  that  the  transfer  which  was 
made  of  her  hand  was  by  no  means  accordant  with  the 
taste  of  the  lady;  the  Duke  de  Candale  being  one  of  the 
finest  men  at  court,  and  so  celebrated  for  the  elegance  of 
his  attire,  that  he  formed  a  model  for  those  who  were 
desirous  to  be  distinguished  for  fashion  and  good  taste. 
"The  duke,"  says  Bussy-Rabutin,  "had  large  blue  eyes, 
somewhat  irregular  features,  a  wide  mouth,  but  garnished 
with  very  fine  teeth,  and  exuberant  light  hair.  His  figure 
was  admirable.  He  had  the  air  of  a  man  of  quality,  and 
filled  one  of  the  first  stations  in  France,  being  a  duke  and 
peer  of  the  kingdom.  Beside  this,  he  was  governor-in- 
chief  of  the  Gergovians ;  and  conjointly  with  his  father, 
Bernard  of  England,  of  the  Bourguignons  also,  as  well  as 
general  of  the  Gallacian  infantry."* 

When  this  description  is  contrasted  with  the  deformed 
person  and  crippled  position  of  M.  de  Conti,  it  will  not  be 
difficult  to  concede  that  the  sacrifice  made  by  Mademoiselle 
Martinozzi  must  have  been  a  painful  one.  The  marriage 
was,  however,  celebrated  a  few  days  subsequently  in  the 
*  Histoire  Amoureuse  des  Gaules. 


THE     COURT      OF     FRANCE.  505 

king's  private  cabinet  at  Fontainebleau  ;  and  the  exem 
plary  conduct  of  the  Princess  de  Conti  more  than  justified 
selection  of  her  husband.  At  the  same  time,  at  a  solemn 
convocation  of  the  parliament,  a  decree  was  issued  against 
M.  de  Conde,  who,  convicted  of  the  double  crime  of  lese- 
majeste  and  rebellion,  and  as  such  deprived  of  the  name 
of  Bourbon,  was  condemned  to  death,  in  whatever  manner 
it  might  be  the  will  of  the  king.  The  prince  replied  to 
this  sentence  characteristically  by  taking  Rocroy ;  while 
Turenne,  who  from  want  of  troops,  was  compelled  to  evade 
a  general  action,  could  only  retort  by  possessing  himself 
of  Sainte-Menehould. 

We  must  not,  however,  omit  to  mention  another  mar- 
riage which  took  place  at  this  period,  and  which  created 
a  strong  feeling  at  court.  It  was  that  of  the  Marquis  de 
Richelieu  with  Mademoiselle  de  Beauvais,  daughter  of  the 
first  femme-de-chambre  of  the  queen.  The  marquis  was 
well  made,  young,  full  of  intellect  and  courage,  and  had 
been  reared  in  all  the  refinement  of  luxury.  His  elder 
brother  being  childless,  the  enormous  wealth  of  the  family 
was  likely  to  devolve  on  him ;  and  thus  it  was  an  alliance 
which  the  proudest  beauties  of  the  court  would  not  have 
disdained ;  while  the  lady  whom  he  had  selected,  although 
pretty  and  amiable,  possessed  no  attraction  sufficiently 
great  to  have  induced  a  suspicion  that  she  was  destined  to 
form  so  brilliant  a  marriage. 

The  Duchess  d'Aiguillon*  was  in  despair ;  and  on  the 
following  day  caused  him  to  be  carried  off  and  conveyed 
to  Italy,  hoping  by  this  extreme  measure  to  weaken  his 
affection  for  his  plebeian  bride  ;  an  experiment  which, 
however,  signally  failed,  as  on  his  return  he  exhibited 
toward  her  an    attachment   which   absence  had  failed  to 

*  Marie  Madelene  de  Viguerod,  the  niece  of  the  Cardinal  Richelieu, 
married  to  Antoine  de  Beauvoir  du  Roure  de  Cambalet ;  for  whom,  as 
already  stated,  he  had  purchased,  in  1638,  the  duchy-peerage  of  Aiguil- 
lon,  was  the  aunt  of  the  marquis. 

VOL.  I. Y 


506  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

weaken.  In  her  mortification,  the  duchess  declared  that 
her  nephews  were  progressing  from  bad  to  worse,  and  that 
she  had  great  hopes  that  the  third  would  complete  the  ruin 
of  the  family  by  marrying  the  daughter  of  a  clerk.*  It  is 
certain  that,  could  the  proud  and  haughty  cardinal  have 
risen  from  his  grave,  and  seen  the  result  to  which  his  am- 
bition had  attained,  he  would  have  shivered  in  his  shroud. 

At  this  period,  Madame  gave  birth  to  a  fourth  daughter, 
greatly  to  the  chagrin  of  Monsieur,  who  had  entertained 
hopes  of  another  son  ;  and  her  life  was  in  such  extreme 
danger  that  Mademoiselle  sent  to  request  of  Monsieur 
that  he  would  allow  her  to  see  the  invalid ;  but  she  re- 
ceived the  cold  reply  that  her  visit  was  declined  for  the 
present.  The  Countess  de  Fiesque  also  took  this  oppor- 
tunity of  requesting  the  queen  to  permit  her  to  pay  her  re- 
spects at  the  Louvre  ;  when  Her  Majesty  answered,  that 
simply  as  the  Countess  de  Fiesque  she  had  no  objection  to 
see  her,  but  that  she  must  decline  receiving  the  governante 
of  Mademoiselle.  Madame  de  Fiesque  accordingly  paid 
her  visit.t 

We  have  hitherto,  owing  to  his  tender  age,  been  enabled 
to  do  little  more  than  glance  at  the  existence  of  the  young 
king.  It  has  now,  however,  become  time  that  he  should 
assume  his  fitting  place  in  our  narrative ;  and  to  enable 
him  to  do  this,  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  revert  briefly  to  the 
last  two  or  three  years  of  his  life.  Even  as  a  boy,  Louis 
XIV.  was  singularly  susceptible  to  female  beauty.  His 
first  passion,  if  such  indeed  it  merits  to  be  called,  was  for 
Madame  de  Frontenac,  the  attraction  of  whose  society 
was  so  great  to  the  young  sovereign,  that  Mademoiselle, 
as  we  have  already  shown,  built  up  a  world  of  hopes  upon 
attentions  for  which  she  was  simply  indebted  to  the  com- 
panionship of  her  handsome  lady  of  honor.     This  inclina- 

*  The  Duke  de  Richelieu  had  married  Mademoiselle  de  Pons,  attach- 
ed to  the  household  of  Anne  of  Austria. 

t  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpeusier. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  507 

tion  was,  however,  nipped  in  the  bud  by  Anne  of  Austria, 
who  was  more  far-sighted  than  her  ambitious  niece,  and 
who  discovered  nothing  but  peril  for  her  young  son,  in  this 
intimacy  with  an  experienced  woman  of  fashion. 

His  next  favorite  was  Madame  de  Chatillon  ;  who,  at 
the  commencement  of  the  Fronde,  accompanied  the  royal 
circle  from  Paris,  where  the  amusements  of  the  court  suf- 
fered no  diminution  from  the  menacing  aspect  of  public 
affairs.  The  policy  of  the  cardinal  was  to  divert  the  mind 
of  the  king  from  passing  events ;  and  for  this  purpose  he 
was  careful  to  conceal  the  whole  extent  of  the  evil  even 
from  the  queen  herself,  and  never  to  mention  the  subject 
of  the  war  in  the  presence  of  Louis,  save  when  he  could 
make  it  serviceable,  by  expatiating  upon  the  demerits  of 
those  who  were  opposing  his  own  measures ;  for  he  had 
already  learned  to  mistrust  the  intuitive  penetration  of  the 
boy-sovereign,  of  whom,  even  at  this  early  age,  he  was 
once  betrayed  into  declaring  that,  "  There  was  material 
enough  in  him  to  make  three  kings,  and  an  honest  man  ;" 
a  libel  upon  royalty  which  seems  strangely  misplaced  from 
the  lips  of  a  courtier. 

Thus  Louis  had  no  care  save  that  of  surrounding  him- 
self with  pleasure,  and  Madame  de  Chatillon  was  the  con- 
stant associate  of  his  sports  ;  while  so  agreeable  and  almost 
indispensable  did  she  make  herself,  that  the  young  king 
soon  forgot  in  her  society  the  attractions  of  Madame  de 
Frontenac ;  her  bright  eyes  and  ringing  laugh  producing 
an  effect  upon  his  affections  which  was  as  unwelcome  as 
unexpected  to  the  queen.  Louis,  however,  was  still  a 
boy,  and  too  timid  to  contend  with  so  practiced  a  coquet, 
whose  unconcealed  indiscretion  with  the  Duke  do  Ne- 
mours soon  afforded  a  subject  for  the  gossipry  of  the  court. 
The  young  king  had,  moreover,  to  contend  with  the  rivalry 
of  Conde,  then  in  the  full  blaze  of  his  renown;  and  this 
fact,  coupled  with  the  death  of  M.  de  Chatillon,  who  held 
a  command  unde.''  the  prince,  where  he  received  a  musket- 


5U8  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

shot  in  his  body,  of  whose  effects  he  expired  on  the  suc- 
ceeding evening,  tended  to  emancipate  Louis  from  his 
second  peril. 

The  despair  enacted  by  the  young  and  beautiful  duchess 
on  the  occasion  of  her  widowhood  became  a  new  theme 
for  the  comments  of  the  court  circle ;  and  was  carried  to 
such  an  excess,  that  its  sincerity  did  not  remain  for  one 
moment  doubtful.  Her  subsequent  exile  on  the  termina- 
tion of  the  Fronde,  however,  removed  her  from  all  imme- 
diate contact  with  the  sovereign,  whose  third  inclination 
was  for  Mademoiselle  d'Heudecourt,  one  of  the  maids  of 
honor  to  Anne  of  Austria  ;  but  his  extreme  youth  had  hith- 
erto been  his  best  protection  against  the  dangers  by  which 
he  was  surrounded. 

Meanwhile  the  nieces  of  the  cardinal-minister,  who  were 
peculiarly  favored  by  the  queen,  were  accustomed  to  con- 
sider the  Louvre  as  a  second  home  ;  and  Anne  of  Austria, 
naturally  affable  where  her  feelings  were  interested,  dis- 
pensed in  their  favor  with  all  the  usual  ceremonials  of  court 
etiquet.  They  consequently  played,  laughed,  romped,  and 
sang,  as  girls  of  their  age  are  wont  to  do ;  and  the  young 
king  lived  gayly  in  the  midst  of  them,  as  though  they  had 
been  his  sisters,  without  a  thought  beyond  the  pleasure  of 
the  hour;  while  he  was  fated  to  bestow  his  first  serious 
affections  upon  a  femme-de-chambre  of  the  queen,  Madame 
de  Beauvais,  the  mother  of  the  lady  who  was  afterward 
fated  to  become  the  wife  of  the  Marquis  de  Richelieu,  bul 
who,  at  that  period  in  her  eighteenth  year,  was  beloved  by 
the  Count  de  Guiche.  This  liaison,  which  ia  said  to  have 
been  prompted  by  the  queen  herself,  to  whom  De  Beauvais 
was  devoted,  lasted  for  three  months,  when  it  was  abruptly 
terminated  by  a  jest  of  the  young  count,  which  Louis  never 
forgave. 

In  a  moment  of  confidence  the  king  mentioned  his  con- 
quest to  his  friend ;  and  was  repaid  for  the  tale  by  a  fit  of 
laughter,  as  the  count  declared  that  His  Majesty  had  taken 


THE     CO  0  R  T     0  F     F  ft  A  N  C  E.  509 

an  unfair  advantage  of  so  loyal  a  subject  as  himself,  by  su- 
peradding to  the  respect  which  he  owed  him  as  a  mon- 
arch that  which  he  must  render  to  a  parent,  being  himself 
in  pursuit  of  the  lady's  daughter.  Louis  felt  at  the  mo- 
ment when  these  unguarded  words  were  uttered,  that  they 
must  either  be  resented,  or  treated  as  a  jest,  and  he  at  once 
resolved  to  affect  amusement  at  the  intelligence  ;  but  it 
nevertheless  rankled,  for  he  at  once  perceived  the  absurdity 
of  his  position,  and  could  not  support  the  superiority  of  the 
count. 

The  queen,  as  a  matter  of  public  expediency,  affected  a 
desire  to  remove  Madame  de  Beauvais  from  the  court ; 
but  Mazarin,  with  his  usual  policy,  protested  against  such 
a  proceeding,  which  he  declared  to  be  at  once  unwise  and 
unnecessary  ;  reminding  her  that  what  the  king  mistook  for 
love  would  be  the  means  of  occupying  his  thoughts,  and 
diverting  his  attention  from  more  important  affairs  ;  and 
that  the  young  monarch  had,  during  this  hallucination,  left 
an  unlimited  power  in  her  hands,  which,  under  other  cir- 
cumstances, he  would  probably  have  disputed.  Convin- 
ced by  this  argument,  the  queen  forbore  all  interference  ; 
which  was,  indeed,  as  we  have  shown,  soon  rendered  un- 
necessary by  the  agency  of  the  Count  de  Guiche. 

Louis  XIV.  was  naturally  a  votary  of  pleasure;  and  the 
minister  was,  above  all  things,  careful  that  amusement 
should  never  be  wanting.  Despite  the  penury  of  the  court, 
every  opportunity  of  dissipation  was  seized  with  avidity ; 
and  throughout  the  whole  of  the  winter  Paris  presented 
one  long  festival.  The  marriage  of  the  Princess  Louise 
of  Savoy,  and  the  Prince  of  Baden,  was  made  the  occasion 
of  long-continued  rejoicings ;  the  anniversary  of  St.  Louis 
was  celebrated  with  unusual  pomp  ;  and  theatrical  enter- 
tainments were  of  constant  recurrence. 

At  this  period  Corneille  produced  his  Pcrtharite ;  which, 
however,  notwithstanding  the  presence  of  the  king  at  its 
first  representation,  proved  an  utter  failure;    while  <im- 


.010  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

nault,*  hitherto  unknown,  put  his  first  comedy  upon  the 
stage,  and  at  once  secured  his  reputation  as  a  dramatist. 
At  the  same  time  a  company  of  actors  at  Lyons  were  rep- 
resenting a  comedy  in  five  acts,  of  which  the  fame  reach- 
ed even  to  Paris.     It  was  the  Etourdi  of  Moliere. 

Somewhat  wearied  of  remaining  a  mere  spectator  of 
these  public  exhibitions,  Louis  began  to  interest  himself 
greatly  in  the  representations  of  ballets,  and  to  cause  them 
to  be  composed  for  the  express  purpose  of  being  enacted 
by  himself,  his  brother,  and  the  principal  ladies  and  nobles 
of  the  court ;  and  as  the  Hotel  du  Petit-Bourbon  was  con- 
tiguous to  the  Louvre,  its  theater  was  selected  for  these 
regal  exhibitions.  The  queen  and  the  cardinal  exulted  in 
the  applause  and  admiration  which  Louis  constantly  ex- 
cited in  these  strange  masqueradings,  and  encouraged  them 
by  every  means  in  their  power;  while,  so  devoted  was  the 
young  king  himself  to  the  pastime,  that  in  one  of  them  he 
actually  played  five  successive  characters,  those  of  Apollo, 
Mars,  a  Fury,  a  Dryad,  and  a  Courtier ;  and  submitted  to 
the  fatigue  of  assuming  the  several  costumes,  frequently  as 
often  as  three  times  during  the  week.  Benseradet  had  the 
exclusive  privilege  of  composing  the  libretti  of  these  bal- 
lets, which  were  one  continued  ovation  to  the  young  mon- 
arch, who  was  not  in  his  own  person  exempted  from  the 

*  Philip  Qainault  was  the  originator  of  lyrical  tragedy  in  France,  a 
style  in  which  he  has  never  been  excelled.  Born  in  1635,  he  wrote  in 
1658  his  first  comedy,  entitled  The  Rivals;  which  he  followed  up  by 
a  crowd  of  other  dramas,  that  obtained  ecpial  success,  and  caused  him 
to  be  received  into  the  French  Academy  in  1670.  In  the  following 
year  he  purchased  the  charge  of  an  auditor  of  public  accounts.  From 
that  period  until  1686,  he  produced  uothing  but  operas,  of  which  Lulli 
composed  the  music,  and  for  which  Louis  XIV.  bestowed  upon  him  a 
pension  of  2000  livres.     Quinault  died  in  1683. 

t  Isaac  de  Benserade,  the  poet,  was  born  at  Lyons  in  Normandy,  in 
1612;  and  died  in  1691  a  member  of  the  French  Academy,  to  which 
he  had  been  admitted  in  1674.  All  the  court  were  divided  into  par- 
ties, between  his  sonnet  of  Job,  and  that  of  L'ranie  by  Voiture. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  511 

delivery  of  the  most  exaggerated  and  fulsome  self-praise. 
Such,  however,  was  the  taste  of  the  time;  and  if  these 
vapid  verses  did  little  for  the  reputation  of  Benserade,  they 
at  least  made  his  fortune. 

It  was  in  these  entertainments  that  Louis  XIV.  accus- 
tomed himself  to  be  regarded  as  a  demi-god ;  and  his 
brother,  the  Duke  d'Anjou,  who  from  his  extreme  beauty 
invariably  represented  a  female  character,  to  be  worshiped 
as  a  goddess.  We  have  already  alluded  to  the  misdirec- 
tion of  the  tastes  and  energies  of  the  young  princes, 
which  it  will  be  seen  had  continued  from  boyhood  into 
youth. 

There  was  a  second  theater  in  Paris,  in  the  Hotel  de 
Bourgoyne ;  and  ere  long  the  taste  for  the  drama  obtained 
so  much,  that  these  two  no  longer  sufficed,  and  it  was 
found  necessary  to  reopen  that  in  the  Marias,  where,  in 
bygone  times,  even  the  thoughtful  features  of  Richelieu 
had  occasionally  relaxed  into  a  smile. 

All  these  amusements,  however,  pleasant  as  they  were, 
and  much  as  they  tended  to  the  gratification  of  individual 
vanity,  cost  considerable  sums  of  money  ;  and  the  state 
chest  was  ill  supplied.  Upon  the  death  of  the  Duke  de  la 
Vieuville,  who  had  been  superintendent  of  finance,  Maza- 
rin  had  named  two  individuals  who  were  conjointly  to 
perform  his  duties.  One  was  the  Servien,*  who  advised 
the  substitution  of  poison  for  the  antidote  which  Madame 
de  Lesdiguieres  was  anxious  to  convey  to  the  Cardinal 
de  Retz,  and  the  other  was  the  Advocate-General  Fouquet, 
in  whose  person  the  cardinal  sought  at  once  to  serve  hia 

*  Abel  Servien  had  already  been  superintendent  of  finance,  under 
Louis  XIII.  ;  an  office  which  was  suppressed  after  the  arrest  of 
Fouquet.  In  1644,  he  was  sent  with  M.  d'Avaux  to  Munster,  and 
acquired  a  lasting  reputation  at  the  treaty  of  Westphalia,  where  he 
acted  as  plenipotentiary.  He  died  at  his  chateau  at  Meudon,  in 
1659.  Many  of  his  letters  have  been  published  with  those  of  the 
Count  d'Avaux. 


512  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

brother,  the  Abbe  Fouquet,*  and  to  conciliate  the  par- 
liament. 

When  his  funds  were  exhausted,  Mazarin  applied  to 
Servien,  who  declared  that  she  could  give  him  no  assist- 
ance ;  and  he  was,  consequently,  compelled  to  turn  for 
help  to  Fouquet,t  who  had  been  awaiting  the  application 
with  anxiety,  and  who  declared  that,  if  the  minister  would 
confide  in  his  exertions,  he  would  find  money,  not  only  for 
the  pleasures  of  the  court,  and  for  the  necessities  of  the 
war,  but  also  for  a  ceremony  at  which,  owing  to  the  de- 
fault of  the  treasury,  not  even  one  of  those  who  were  so 
deeply  interested  in  its  accomplishment  had  yet  dared  to 
glance — the  coronation  of  the  young  sovereign.  Mazarin 
at  once  felt  that  he  had  encountered  the  very  individual  cal- 
culated to  second  his  views,  and,  happy  to  rid  himself  of 
a  responsibility  to  which  he  was  unequal,  he  conferred 
unlimited  power  upon  Fouquet  to  raise  funds  as  he  saw 
fit ;  and  the  new  minister  thenceforth  became,  in  point  of 
fact,  the  real  and  sole  superintendent  of  finance.^ 

Bold,  ambitious,  and  uncompromising,  at  once  a  sensu- 
alist and  a  prodigal,  Fouquet  overcame  every  impediment 

*  Abbe  de  Barbeaux  and  de  Rigney.  "  He  was,"  says  Anquetil, 
"intriguing,  bold,  interfering  with  every  thing;  creating  misunder- 
standings in  families,  causing  the  men  to  fight,  and  defaming  their 
wives  and  daughters.  Nevertheless  he  was  tolerated,  even  by  those 
whom  he  had  insulted,  because  he  was  a  man  of  intelligence,  in  more 
than  one  respect.  On  one  occasion,  when  Madame  de  Chatillon  went 
to  his  house,  in  his  absence,  and  carried  away  some  of  her  own  letters 
which  he  had  refused  to  restore  to  her,  he  retorted  by  going  in  his 
turn  into  hers,  making  a  general  search,  upsetting  every  thing,  and  not 
finding  what  he  sought,  breaking  the  mirrors  and  the  porcelain,  and 
throwing  the  furniture  out  of  the  windows,  to  the  great  scandal  of  the 
whole  neighborhood  ;  and  yet  they  afterward  became  reconciled." — 
Louis  XIV.,  Sa  Coin;  el  he  Regent. 

t  Nicholas  Fouquet,  bora  in  1615,  was  at  twenty  years  of  age 
Maitre  des  Requites,  and  some  years  subsequently  Advocate-General 
of  Paris.     In  10*53,  he  was  appointed  Superintendent  of  Finance. 

t  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE  513 

and  every  scruple,  and,  at  the  expiration  of  a  few  months, 
had  so  amply  redeemed  his  promise,  that  the  cardinal, 
dazzled  by  the  display  of  a  genius  for  money-gettino-, 
to  which  even  his  own  was  compelled  to  bow,  confi- 
ded to  him  not  only  the  finances  of  the  kingdom,  but, 
what  was  still  dearer  to  him,  the  care  of  his  private  for- 
tune. 

A  period  was  then  finally  fixed  for  the  coronation  of 
Louis  XIV.,  and  every  one  who  was  privileged  to  take  a 
part  in  the  pageant  was  immediately  so  much  occupied 
by  individual  interests,  that  it  was  only  as  the  time  for  the 
ceremony  drew  near  that  each  awakened  to  a  conscious- 
ness of  the  meagerness  of  the  train  which  would  follow  the 
King  of  France  to  the  steps  of  the  throne.  The  Duke 
d'Orleans,  when  summoned,  refused  to  leave  his  little 
court  at  Blois,  unless  certain  concessions  were  made, 
which  were  definitively  negatived  by  the  minister,  to  the 
great  increase  of  his  discontent,  while  Mademoiselle,  to 
whom  nothing  would  have  given  greater  satisfaction  than 
so  pompous  an  opportunity  of  displaying  her  magnificence 
at  court,  could  not  be  present  at  a  ceremony  in  which  her 
father  refused  to  appear.  The  Prince  de  Conde,  under 
judicial  sentence  of  death,  was  at  the  head  of  the  Spanish 
forces,  while  M.  de  Conti,  foreseeing  the  difficulty  in 
which  he  should  soon  be  placed,  had  already  asked  and 
obtained  permission  to  leave  his  young  wife,  and  to  assume 
the  command  of  the  troops  in  Roussillon.  The  Cardinal 
de  Retz  was  still  a  prisoner,  and  ten  thousand  individuals, 
belonging  to  the  noblest  families  in  the  kingdom,  had 
either  exiled  themselves  with  Conde,  or,  adopting  the 
interests  of  M.  de  Retz,  remained  neutral,  refusing  to 
sanction  by  their  presence  the  movements  of  the  court 
party. 

The  destitution  was  thus  almost  complete;  but  as,  thanks 
to  the  exertions  of  Fouquet,  there  was  no  lack  of  funds, 
Mazarin  resolved  that  the  coronation  should  suffer  no  de- 


514  LOUIS    XIV.     AND 

lay  ;  and  it  accordingly  took  place  at  Rheims,  with  consid- 
erable splendor.  One  circumstance  connected  with  the 
ceremony  deserves  remark.  As  the  Archbishop  of  Rheims 
(the  Duke  de  Guise)  was  not  an  ecclesiastic,  the  privilege 
of  crowning  the  young  king  devolved  upon  M.  de  Soisson, 
one  of  his  suffragans  ;|  and  thus  almost  every  individual 
who  was  present  was  in  a  false  position,  from  the  officia- 
ting priest  to  the  peers;  who,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Duke  d'Anjou,  were  not  qualified  to  fill  the  places  to  which 
the  absence  of  the  princes  of  the  blood  had  temporarily 
exalted  them.* 

On  the  morrow,  the  king  was  invested  with  the  Order 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  he,  in  his  turn,  immediately  con- 
ferred upon  his  brother;  and  on  the  following  day  he  left 
Rheims  to  join  the  army.  It  had  been  decided  that  M.  de 
Conde  should  be  compelled  to  vacate  Stenay,  and  the  sov- 
ereign was  to  commence  his  military  career  by  assisting 
at  the  taking  of  the  city.t 

His  apprenticeship  to  war  was  by  no  means  calculated 
to  imbue  Louis  XIV.  with  a  taste  for  military  life ;  for 
the  avaricious  cardinal,  notwithstanding  the  extreme  youth 
of  his  royal  master,  and  his  exalted  rank,  invested  his  po- 
sition with  no  adventitious  attractions.  All  the  arrange- 
ments were  made  in  a  spirit  of  parsimony  unworthy  of  a 
great  nation  and  a  wise  minister.  The  king  could  not 
boast  a  single  equipage,  but  was  constantly  compelled  to 
travel  on  horseback  ;   while,  having  no  table  of  his  own, 

*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 

t  Stenay,  situated  on  the  Meuse,  is  a  very  ancient  city,  and  was 
originally  protected  by  strong  fortifications,  which  were  destroyed  by 
Louis, XIV.  It  was  one  of  the  residences  of  the  kings  of  Australia. 
The  city  was  taken  by  Turenne  in  1591,  and  a  short  time  subsequently 
fell  into  the  possession  of  the  dukes  of  Lorraine,  who  retained  it  until 
ihe  period  of  its  cession  to  France.  During  the  war  of  1650  it  became 
the  strong-hold  of  the  revolted  princes,  and  was  taken  by  Louis  in  1(551. 
In  1648  the  king  had  given  it  to  the  great  Conde,  in  whose  family  it 
subsequently  remained  until  17-91. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  515 

he  shared  that  of  the  general  in  command.  Nor  was 
greater  care  exhibited  in  protecting  him  from  danger. 
He  was  permitted  to  enter  the  trenches,  and  to  join  in  the 
frequent  skirmishes ;  where  the  balls  which  whistled  past, 
or  fell  about  him,  never,  however,  succeeded  in  eliciting 
from  him  one  gesture  of  apprehension.  He  was,  at  this 
period,  in  his  sixteenth  year,  and  received  his  first  lessons 
in  the  art  of  war  from  the  Marquis  de  Fabert,*  who  was 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  the  age. 

The  son  of  a  bookseller  and  magistrate  of  Metz,  Abra- 
ham Fabert  commenced  his  career  as  a  private  soldier, 
became  a  marshal  of  France,  and  might  have  been  re- 
ceived as  a  knight  of  the  order,  had  he  not  refused  to  fur- 
nish to  the  authorities  fictitious  testimonials  of  nobility, 
which  they  were  prepared  to  admit  upon  his  oath,  because 
such  a  proceeding  was  repugnant  to  his  principles.  He 
was  believed  by  the  troops  to  bear  a  charmed  life,  al- 
though he  had  frequently  been  wounded  ;  while  the  peo- 
ple of  Sedan  affirmed  that  he  had  a  familiar  spirit  which 
revealed  to  him  all  the  secrets  of  the  future,  and  to  whom 
he  was  indebted  for  his  constant  good  fortune  ;  an  impres- 
sion which  he  took  no  pains  to  remove. 

When  Cardinal  Mazarin  was  compelled  to  leave  Paris, 
he  confided  to  M.  de  Fabert  his  money,  his  jewels,  and 
his  nieces ;  and  now  that  he  had  resumed  his  authority, 

*  Abraham  Fabert,  born  at  Metz  in  1599,  entered  the  French  Guards 
in  the  year  1G13.  He  contributed  to  the  capture  of  St.  John  d'Angely 
in  1G21,  and  of  Royan  in  1622 ;  and  fought  at  the  siege  of  La  Rochelle. 
After  having  served  in  the  war  of  Savoy,  as  well  as  in  the  religious 
wars,  he  was  appointed  captain  of  light-horse,  and  distinguished  him- 
self in  Piedmont  in  1639,  for  which  service  he  obtained  the  rank  of 
captain  in  the  French  Guards.  In  the  campaign  of  Roussillon,  in  1611, 
he  took  Argillei's  and  Collioure.  Named  governor  of  Sedan,  and  adju- 
tant-general in  1644,  he  served  in  Catalonia  and  Italy.  Created  a  mar- 
quis in  1650,  and  lieutenant-general  of  the  king's  forces;  he  fought  in 
Flanders  and  in  Champagne,  took  Stenay,  was  made  Marshal  of  France, 
and  died  at  Sedan  in  1662. 


516  LOUIS    XIV.     AND 

he  intrusted  to  bis  charge  the. military  education  of  the 
young  sovereign.* 

The  anticipation  of  the  marshal  that  Stenay  would  sus- 
tain a  long  and  desperate  siege  proved  to  be  erroneous,  as 
M.  de  Conde,  after  having  strengthened  the  garrison,  had 
marched  all  his  forces  against  Arras.  Stenay  was  accord- 
ingly soon  taken  ;  and  this  point  accomplished,  it  was  re- 
solved to  attack  the  Spanish  troops.  One  wing  of  the 
army  reinforced  M.  de  Turenne,  while  the  other,  com- 
prising the  king,  formed  two  divisions  under  the  Marshal 
de  la  Ferte  and  the  Marshal  d'Hocquincourt.  A  few  un- 
important engagements  then  took  place  between  Conde 
and  the  royal  army,  which  were,  however,  only  the  pre- 
lude to  a  genera]  attack,  in  which  the  Spanish  and  Lor- 
raine positions  were  forced;  although  at  the  decisive 
moment  M.  de  Conde,  who  had  reserved  himself  for  this 
emergency,  fell  upon  the  victorious  troops  with  such  ex- 
treme impetuosity,  that  for  an  instant  the  fortune  of  the 
day  wavered  ;  but  it  was  only  for  an  instant;  and,  despite 
his  chivalrous  courage,  he  could  not  prevent  all  the  can- 
non and  baggage  of  his  army  from  falling  into  the  hands 
of  the  enemy,  nor  ultimately  the  raising  of  the  siege  of 
Arras,  into  which  city  the  king  entered  a  few  days  subse- 
quently for  the  purpose  of  congratulating  his  three  gener- 
als, but  especially  M.  de  Turenne,  upon  the  victory  they 
had  gained,  after  which  he  returned  to  Paris,  in  order  to 
preside  at  a  public  thanksgiving  at  Notre-Dame,  while  on 
the  very  morrow  of  that  ceremony,  when  all  was  pomp 
and  gladness,  died  in  obscurity  the  councilor  Broussel, 
who,  only  a  few  years  previously,  had  been  for  awhile  the 
idol  of  the  capital.* 

With  Louis,  returned  all  the  pleasures  of  the  court. 
His  precocious  courage,  and  the  prospect  which  it  afford- 
ed, were  the  one  great  theme  of  the  joyous  city.     All  was 

*  Louis  XIV.,  Sa  Cour,  et  Le  Regent. 
t  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  517 

again  gayety  and  animation ;  ballets,  tournaments,  and 
jousts,  in  which  the  actors  were  habited  in  the  costume 
of  ancient  chivalry,  succeeded  each  other  with  unwearied 
activity ;  and  all  the  most  magnificent  nobles  then  collect- 
ed in  Paris,  gorgeously  attired,  and  mounted  upon  superb 
chargers,  cavalcaded  in  emulative  pride  beneath  the  bal- 
conies of  the  high-born  dames,  w7ho  contributed,  by  the 
richness  of  their  own  costume,  to  the  gorgeousness  of  the 
spectacle. 

Court-balls  were  also  frequent ;  sometimes  accessible  to 
every  one  whose  position  entitled  them  to  such  a  privi- 
lege, and  at  others  limited  to  a  select  circle ;  on  which 
occasions,  in  order  to  give  confidence  to  the  young  sover- 
eign, who  felt  ill  at  ease  in  the  society  of  comparative 
strangers,  the  queen  permitted  a  disregard  of  etiquet, 
which  startled  those  who  remembered  the  severe  ceremo- 
nial observed  under  Louis  XIII.  and  the  Cardinal  Riche- 
lieu. Nor  was  Mazarin  less  anxious  than  Anne  of  Aus- 
tria herself  to  contribute,  by  every  means  in  his  power,  to 
the  gratification  of  the  young  monarch,  whose  rapid  ad- 
vance toward  moral  emancipation  he  contemplated  with 
such  misgiving,  that  he  ere  long  became  conscious,  that, 
in  order  to  retain  his  own  influence,  he  must  detach  him- 
self by  degrees  from  the  queen  (who  from  her  peculiar 
position  must  necessarily  submit  to  his  defalcation  without 
complaint),  and  secure  the  good  opinion  of  the  new  power 
which  was  about  to  develop  its  resources.  For  this  pur- 
pose, the  crafty  cardinal,  as  if  sympathizing  in  the  tastes 
of  his  royal  master,  exerted  himself  to  further  all  his 
amusements,  and  even  introduce  into  them  a  mag- 
nificence which  had  never  before  been  displayed  in 
France. 

While  these  trivial  pursuits  were  apparently  absorbing 
alike  the  attention  and  the  energies  of  the  court,  an  event 
occurred,  however,  which  compelled  Mazarin  to  withdraw 
his  thoughts  from   pomp  and  pageantry,  and  to  feel  that 


518  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

the  eagle,  although  caged,  still  possesses  its  beak  and  its 
talons.  A  few  days  after  M.  de  Retz  was  conducted  to 
Vincennes,  he  learned  the  death  of  his  uncle,  the  arch- 
bishop of  Paris ;  and  even  prisoner  as  he  was,  he  found 
himself  perfectly  eligible,  as  coadjutor  alone,  to  claim  the 
succession.  The  archbishop  had  expired  at  four  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  the  21st  of  May  (1653),  and  at  five, 
M.  de  Caumartin,  being  the  bearer  of  a  valid  authority 
from  the  cardinal  his  nephew,  took  possession,  in  his  name, 
of  the  archbishopric.  Twenty  minutes  later  M.  Letelliei 
arrived,  in  the  name  of  the  king;  but  those  twenty  min- 
utes had  rendered  his  errand  abortive.  The  power  of 
M.  de  Retz  over  the  minds  of  the  metropolitan  clergy,  so 
far  from  being  weakened  by  his  captivity,  had  increased 
from  the  very  fact  of  what  they  considered  as  a  political 
martyrdom,  to  which  his  more  sacred  character  had 
been  sacrificed ;  while  the  Pope,  on  his  side,  addressed 
perpetual  letters  to  the  ministers  to  solicit  his  libera- 
tion. 

An  event  had,  moreover,  occurred,  which  had  carried 
the  sympathy  of  the  people  with  M.  de  Retz  almost  to  en- 
thusiasm. The  chapter  of  Notre-Dame  had  asked  and 
obtained  permission  for  one  of  its  members  to  share  his 
captivity,  and  its  selection  fell  upon  a  chanoine  related  to 
M.  de  Bragelonne,  who  had  been  the  fellow-student  of  M. 
de  Retz,  and  to  whom  he  had  subsequently  given  his  pre- 
bend. Unable  to  endure  the  confinement  which,  from 
affection  for  the  cardinal,  he  had  solicited,  and  which,  de- 
spite all  entreaties,  he  persisted  in  believing  himself  able 
to  sustain,  he  fell  into  a  state  of  profound  melancholy, 
which  was  succeeded  by  an  intermittent  fever,  under  whose 
effects  he  destroyed  himself,  by  cutting  his  throat  with  a  ra- 
zor; and  the  only  civility  which  he  experienced  through- 
out the  whole  course  of  his  imprisonment  M.  de  Retz  de- 
clares to  have  been  exhibited  in  the  fact,  that  he  was  never 
informed  of  the  manner  of  his  death  until  he  learned  it 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  519 

from  M.  de  Bellievre  on  the  day  when  he  was  transferred 
from  the  tower  of  Vincennes  to  Nantes.  It,  however,  serv- 
ed him  well  with  his  friends  ;  for  as  they  did  not  fail  to 
attribute  the  suicide  of  the  chanoine  to  the  rigorous  nature 
of  the  imprisonment,  it  awakened  at  once  their  compassion 
for  the  sufferings  of  the  cardinal,  and  their  admiration  of 
the  magnanimity  with  which  he  sustained  the  trial.  From 
every  pulpit  in  Paris  fulminated  the  most  incendiary  dis- 
courses ;  the  two  grand-vicars  publicly  denounced  his  cap- 
tivity ;  while  the  several  curates  reechoed  the  cry  of  sac- 
rilege ;  and  amid  this  excitement  appeared  a  pamphlet 
calling  upon  all  the  acting  clergy  in  Paris  to  close  their 
churches. 

This  species  of  excommunication  was  the  more  frightful 
that  it  came  not  only  from  the  head  of  the  church,  but  from 
the  church  collectively ;  and  it  was  impossible  to  calculate 
the  effect  of  such  a  denunciation  upon  the  populace.  Suf- 
fice it  that,  in  his  alarm,  Mazarin  determined  to  capitulate; 
but,  in  order  to  effect  this,  it  was  found  expedient  to  obtain 
from  the  Cardinal  de  Retz  his  resignation  of  the  arch- 
bishopric of  Paris.  The  first  attempt  to  pi-ocure  this  re- 
signation was  by  menace ;  although  the  minister  should 
long  ago  have  discovered  that  the  prelate  was  not  a  person 
likely  to  be  intimidated  by  threats.  Accordingly,  M.  de 
Navailles,  the  captain  of  the  guard  then  on  duty,  was  dis- 
patched to  the  prisoner  in  the  name  of  the  king,  and  ad- 
dressed him  in  a  tone  which,  as  De  Retz  himself  declares, 
was  altogether  foreign  to  the  courteous  and  gentle  nature 
of  the  messenger,  whom  Mazarin  had  instructed  to  act 
more  like  an  aga  of  Janissaries  than  the  official  of  a  Christ- 
ian monarch.  Unwilling,  therefore,  to  retort  upon  the 
compulsatory  harshness  of  M.  de  Navailles,  by  a  reply 
in  the  same  spirit,  M.  de  Retz  requested  him  to  permit 
that  he  should  give  his  answer  in  writing ;  and  this 
having  been  conceded,  he  couched  it  in  terms  of  sover- 
eign   contempt    for  both  menace   and    promise,  and  con- 


520  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

eluded  by  a  definite  refusal  to  divest  himself  of  his  arch- 
bishopric !* 

Two  days  afterward  the  cardinal  received  a  visit  from 
the  president  Bellievre,  for  which  he  had  on  the  previous 
evening  been  prepared  by  his  friends  ;  and  as  he  knew  him 
to  be  at  heart  a  confirmed  enemy  of  Mazarin,  he  awaited 
his  advent  with  some  curiosity,  but  without  the  slightest 
apprehension.  His  mission  was  to  offer  to  the  prisoner,  as 
an  equivalent  for  the  dignity  of  which  he  was  urged  to  dis- 
possess himself,  the  abbeys  of  St.  Lucian  and  Beauvais, 
St.  Medard  de  Soissons,  St.  Germain  d'Auxerre,  St.  Martin 
de  Pontoise,  St.  Aubin  d'Ange,  de  Barbeau,  and  d'Ovian. 
The  cardinal  was,  however,  inflexible ;  frankly  declaring 
that  he  placed  no  faith  in  the  fulfillment  of  a  pledge  to  this 
extent,  as  Mazarin  had  offered  no  sureties,  although  on 
the  part  of  M.  de  Retz  he  required  the  security  of  twelve 
of  his  friends  ;  an  arrangement  which  excited  his  utmost 
indignation. 

The  envoy,  who  participated  in  his  feelings,  then  threw 
off  the  mask  ;  and,  after  a  long  consultation  between  them, 
it  was  agreed  that  the  cardinal  was  by  no  means  compelled 
to  consider  himself  bound  by  a  resignation  dated  from  the 
castle  of  Vincennes,  where  and  when  he  was  in  the  power 
of  his  enemies;  and  that,  consequently,  should  M.  de  Bel- 
lievre be  enabled  to  procure  the  omission  of  the  clause  re- 
specting the  sureties,  the  prisoner  should  sign  the  treaty  at 
once ;  but  that,  meanwhile,  he  was  to  remain  firm  in  his 
refusal,  and  to  reject  on  the  present  occasion  every  condi- 
tion save  a  pure  and  simple  resignation.  M.  de  Retz 
agreed,  accordingly,  to  this  plan  ;  and  M.  de  Bellievre  left 
his  apartment  with  all  the  gravity  of  an  unsuccessful  ne- 
gotiator. 

On  the  morrow  he  again  visited  the  fortress  ;  for  Maza- 
rin, who  desired  nothing  so  much  at  the  present  moment 
as  perfect  tranquillity,  in  order  that  he  might  be  free  to 
*  Me  moires  du  Cardinal  de  Retz. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  521 

put  forth  all  his  strength  against  Conde,  by  whom  he  was 
once  more  menaced,  readily  lent  himself  to  a  compromise 
well  adapted  to  conciliate  the  jarring  interests  in  question. 
In  exchange  for  the  seven  abbeys,  the  Cardinal  de  Retz 
was  to  tender  his  resignation ;  but,  until  the  period  in 
which  it  was  accepted  by  the  Pope,  he  was  to  continue  a 
prisoner  at  Nantes,  under  the  charge  of  the  Marshal  de  la 
Meilleraye,  to  whom  he  was  related  through  his  wife  ;  and 
whose  life,  as  he  himself  acknowledged,  had  been  saved  by 
the  coadjutor  during  the  riots  consequent  on  the  arrest  of 
M.  de  Broussel.  Moreover,  in  any  case,  and  whatever 
might  ensue,  the  marshal,  on  the  authority  of  the  king  him- 
self, gave  a  written  promise  to  M.  de  Bellievre  that  the 
Cardinal  de  Retz  should  not  again  be  delivered  into  the 
hands  of  His  Majesty;  no  further  mention  being  made  of 
the  sureties. 

On  the  second  day  after  signing  this  treaty,  M.  de  Retz 
left  Vincennes,  under  an  escort  composed  of  light-horse, 
musketeers,  and  the  guards  of  His  Eminence.  The  presi- 
dent Bellievre  bore  him  company  as  far  as  Port-a-1'Anglais, 
where  he  took  his  leave  and  returned  to  Paris,  while  the 
cardinal  continued  his  journey  to  Nantes  under  the  guard 
of  Pradelle,  who  had  oi'iginally  escorted  him  to  Vincennes. 
The  latter,  after  remaining  one  day  with  his  men  in  the 
fortress,  also  departed  in  his  turn  for  the  capital,  and  M. 
de  Retz  remained  under  the  sole  guard  of  the  Marshal  de 
la  Meilleraye,  who,  even  while  taking  every  precaution  to 
secure  his  prisoner,  made,  on  the  other  hand,  great  exer- 
tions to  alleviate  the  tedium  of  his  captivity.  After  receiving 
him  with  the  most  courteous  politeness,  he  was  no  sooner 
installed  in  his  apartment,  than  M.  de  la  Meilleraye  sur- 
rounded him  with  amusements.  In  the  morning  he  was 
permitted  to  hold  a  reception,  at  which  he  received  all  the 
visitors  whom  he  desired  to  see  ;  in  the  evening  there  was 
a  theater  which  he  attended  whenever  he  thought  proper; 
in  fine,  although    a   strict  prisoner,  and    closely  watched, 


522  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

every  thing  was  Jone  which  could  tend  to  render  his  cap- 
tivity less  irksome.  The  society  of  the  ladies  of  the  city 
and  its  environs  tended  greatly  to  console  and  amuse  the 
cardinal,  and  at  times  even  caused  him  almost  to  forget 
that  he  was  constantly  under  the  surveillance  of  his  jailers, 
until  he  retired  to  his  chamber,  after  which  the  door  was 
guarded  by  six  men-at-arms,  day  and  night;  while  the 
solitary  window  placed  near  the  roof,  and  strongly 
barred,  opened  into  a  court  in  which  the  guard-room  was 
situated. 

After  the  rigorous  coldness  of  Vincennes,  such  a  life  ap- 
peared almost  liberty  to  the  captive,  who  was,  moreover, 
looking  forward  with  confidence  to  entire  freedom  ;  but 
this  expectation  was  soon  blighted  by  the  refusal  of  the 
Pope  to  accept  his  resignation  ;  and  the  cardinal,  whom 
this  refusal  threatened  to  condemn  to  an  indefinite  period 
of  imprisonment,  forthwith  dispatched  a  confidential  agent 
to  Rome  to  entreat  the  Pontiff"  to  recognize  his  retirement 
from  the  archbishopric,  and  to  authorize  the  appointment 
of  whatever  successor  might  be  selected  by  the  court.  In- 
nocent X.  was,  however,  inflexible,  although  the  agent  of 
M.  de  Retz  explained  to  His  Holiness  the  steps  which  the 
cardinal  had  decided  to  take,  so  soon  as  he  should  agree  to 
his  retreat.  He  merely  replied  to  the  explanation  by  de- 
claring that  he  considered  it  incompatible  with  his  dignity 
to  recognize  a  resignation  which  had  been  extorted  by 
force,  and  could  not,  consequently, be  rendered  valid  even  by 
his  sanction ;  while  it  would  entail  dishonor  upon  himself, 
should  he  permit  it  to  be  said  that  he  had  ratified  an  ar- 
rangement made  in  a  state-prison. 

M.  de  Retz  received  this  reply  with  great  uneasiness ; 
for  he  well  knew  that,  although  the  marshal  detested  Maza- 
rin,  he  had  been  the  pupil  of  Richelieu,  and  therefore  rear- 
ed in  the  school  of  absolute  and  uncompromising  obedi- 
ence ;  nor  was  it  long  ere  he  perceived  a  change  in  the 
manner  of  his  guardian,  who  affected  to  believe  that  the 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  523 

request  which  he  had  made  to  the  Pope  was  a  mere  feinf 
of  which  he  had  been  previously  well  assured  of  the  result, 
and  that  he  had  clandestinely  secured  the  refusal  to  which 
he  was  now  subjected ;  nor  could  all  the  protestations  of 
his  prisoner  convince  himself  to  the  contrary.  Thencefor- 
ward M.  de  Retz  felt  a  perfect  conviction  that  the  marshal 
only  sought  a  plausible  pretext  to  deliver  him  once  more  into 
the  hands  of  his  enemies ;  and  in  this  opinion  he  was 
strengthened  by  the  fact  of  a  journey  made  by  M.  de  la 
Meilleraye  to  the  fortress  of  Brest,  and  the  departure  of 
his  wife,  who  had  only  arrived  a  week  previously  from 
Paris,  and  whom  he  caused  to  leave  Nantes,  and  to  re- 
tire to  her  chateau ;  while  these  suspicions  gained  the 
greater  consistency  from  a  note  which  was  placed  in 
the  hand  of  the  cardinal  by  a  lady  visitor,  and  which  in- 
formed him  that,  should  he  not  previously  effect  his  es- 
cape, he  would  be  transferred  to  Blois  at  the  end  of  the 
month. 

It  was  difficult  for  M.  de  Retz  to  profit  by  this  warning; 
but  he  was,  neveitheless,  unwilling  to  consider  his  evasion 
as  altogether  impracticable,  and,  accordingly,  commenced 
operations  by  inducing  his  friends  to  spread  a  report  that 
the  court  of  Rome  was  beginning  to  look  with  less  reluc- 
tance upon  his  request.  He  next  confided  his  project  to 
the  Duke  de  Brissac,  who  was  an  occasional  visitor  to 
Nantes,  and  who  promised  to  do  every  thing  in  his  power 
to  forward  his  views;  and  as  the  duke  had  a  numerous 
suite,  and  was  always  accompanied  by  a  long  string  of 
baggage  mules,  the  cardinal  at  once  suggested  that  he 
might  make  his  escape  in  one  of  the  chests  with  which  they 
were  laden.  A  box  was  accordingly  made  of  larger  dimen- 
sions than  usual,  and  with  a  perforated  lid  to  enable  him  to 
breathe  freely  during  his  journey  ;  and  so  satisfied  was  the 
prisoner  that  he  should  by  this  expedient  accomplish  his 
object,  that  he  already  felt  at  liberty ;  but,  unfortunately 
for   his    hopes,    M.  de    Brissac    departed    for    Mnchecoul, 


524  LOUIS     XIV.     A  N  D 

where  he  remained  during  three  or  four  days  on  a  visit 
to  the  Duchess  de  Retz,*  who  dissuaded  him  from  the 
attempt ;  alledging  that  it  would  not  only  endanger  his 
own  safety,  but  that  it  would  render  him  guilty  of  a 
serious  breach  of  hospitality  toward  M.  de  Meilleraye, 
by  whom  he  was  received  in  all  confidence,  and  who 
would  be  seriously  involved  by  the  result  of  such  an 
adventure. 

M.  de  Brissac,  impressed  by  these  arguments,  conse- 
quently declared,  on  his  return  to  Nantes,  that  he  felt  con- 
vinced, should  the  cardinal  persist  in  his  intention,  he 
would  be  smothered  in  the  chest ;  and,  moreover,  frapkly 
avowed  that  he  could  not  reconcile  to  himself  the  breach 
of  trust  which,  in  his  friendship  for  the  prisoner,  he  had 
thoughtlessly  contemplated  ;  but  he  solemnly  pledged  him- 
self that,  should  M.  de  Retz  succeed  in  making  his  escape 
beyond  the  walls  of  the  fortress,  he  would  exert  every  en- 
ergy to  assist  his  final  evasion.  As  this  was  all  that  he 
would  concede,  the  cardinal  was  compelled  to  accept  his 
help  upon  his  own  terms  ;  and,  having  concerted  their 
plans,  the  prisoner  set  boldly  to  work  in  order  to  accom- 
plish his  own  deliverance. 

He  was  accustomed  to  walk  along  a  sort  of  ravelin 
which  ran  beside  the  Loire,  and  had  already  remarked 
that  at  that  period  (the  month  of  August)  the  river  did  not 
reach  the  foot  of  the  wall,  but  left  a  small  space  of  land 
extending  to  the  bastion  ;  and  that,  between  this  bastion 
and  the  garden  in  which  the  guard  retrained  while  he  was 
taking  his  exei'cise,  there  was  a  trellised  door  which  had 
been  placed  there  to  prevent  the  soldiers  from  gathering 
the  grapes.  The  project  of  the  prisoner  was  a  desperate 
one;  for  it  was  no  less  than,  as  if  unconsciously,  to  close 
the  door  behind  him,  which,  although  it  could  not  prevent 
the  sentries  from  watching  his  movements,  would  still  form 
an  obstacle  to  their  pursuit ;  and,  this  done,  to  let  himself 
*  Sister-in-law  of  the  Cardinal. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  525 

down  by  a  rope  which  his  physician,  and  the  Abbe  Rous- 
seau, the  brother  of  his  steward,  were  to  provide,  as  well 
as  horses  at  the  foot  of  the  ravelin  for  himself  and  four 
gentlemen  by  whom  he  was  to  be  accompanied  in  his 
flight. 

The  great  difficulty  of  this  attempt  existed  in  the  fact 
that  it  must  be  undertaken  by  daylight,  and  under  the  eyes 
of  two  sentinels  who  were  only  posted  thirty  paces  apart ; 
while  the  six  guards  who  were  responsible  for  his  safe- 
keeping could  fire  upon  him  through  the  latticed  door.  It 
was  also  necessary  that  the  friends  who  awaited  him  should 
act  with  great  circumspection,  lest  the  appearance  of  mount- 
ed men  so  near  the  fortress  should  create  suspicion  ;  and  it 
was  impossible  to  dispense  with  their  attendance,  as  he 
must  necessarily  pass  through  a  neighboring  town  which 
was  the  usual  lounge  of  the  garrison.  There  were,  more- 
over, other  precautions  enforced  by  the  distance  from  Paris, 
where  it  was  essential  to  the  cardinal  to  arrive  with  the 
least  possible  delay ;  and  he  had  to  elude  the  couriers  of 
the  marshal,  by  whom  the  alarm  of  his  evasion  would  not 
fail  to  be  spread  almost  on  the  instant. 

Nevertheless,  the  cardinal  persisted  in  his  purpose ; 
and  at  five  o'clock  in  the  evening,  having  strolled  forth 
according  to  his  usual  custom,  he  drew  the  door  which 
we  have  described  quietly  after  him ;  seized  the  rope, 
which  he  found  at  the  given  spot ;  and  succeeded  in 
gaining  the  base  of  the  wall,  which  was  forty  feet  in 
height,  while  one  of  his  servants,  who  was  in  the  plot, 
plied  the  guard  with  wine.  One  of  the  sentinels  was 
about  to  fire  on  him  as  he  threw  himself  from  the  wall, 

{  but  M.  de  Retz,  with  great  presence  of  mind,  warned 
him  to  beware,  as  he  would  have  him  hanged  if  he  per- 
sisted   in    his    intention ;    and   the   man    believing,   as  he 

I  afterward  confessed,  that  the  marshal  was  a  party  in  the 
evasion,  withheld  his  shot.  Two  young  pages,  who  were 
bathing,  raised  an  outcry  that  the  cardinal  was  effecting 


526  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

his  escape ;  but,  by  a  strange  coincidence,  their  shouts 
were  disregarded,  for  it  chanced  that  at  that  precise 
moment  a  man  was  drowning  farther  down  the  river, 
and  it  was  supposed  that  they  were  merely  crying  for 
help. 

The  four  gentlemen  whom  he  expected  were  already 
awaiting  the  prisoner  at  the  foot  of  the  ravelin,  where 
they  affected  to  be  watering  their  horses ;  and  M.  de  Retz 
was  himself  mounted  before  the  slightest  alarm  was  given. 
Forty  relays  had  been  prepared  between  Nantes  and 
Paris;  and  the  party  galloped  off  in  the  direction  of 
Mauve,  where,  on  being  joined  by  M.  de  Brissac  and 
the  Chevalier  de  Sevigne,  they  were  to  cross  the  river. 
Unfortunately  for  the  fugitive,  the  horse  he  rode  having 
shied  at  the  reflection  of  the  sun  upon  the  barrel  of  his 
pistol  (which  he  was  compelled  to  draw  from  the  holster 
in  order  to  defend  himself  at  the  gate  of  the  faubourg, 
upon  being  recognized  by  one  of  the  sentinels),  he  was 
thrown  with  great  violence,  and  broke  his  collar-bone  ; 
and  although  he  was  speedily  replaced  in  the  saddle  by 
one  of  his  attendants,  the  agony  he  endured  was  so  great 
that  he  was  compelled  from  time  to  time  to  pull  his  hair 
in  order  to  keep  himself  from  fainting;  and  in  this  state 
he  rode  for  five  leagues,  hotly  pursued,  ere  he  gained  the 
boat,  into  which  he  had  scarcely  been  lifted  when  he  be- 
came totally  unconscious. 

When  the  party  had  crossed  the  river  he  made  an  effort 
to  continue  his  journey ;  but  his  physical  energies  were 
exhausted,  and  M.  de  Brissac  was  compelled  to  conceal 
him  in  a  haystack,  where  he  left  him  supported  in  the 
arms  of  one  of  his  own  household.  In  this  painful  situa- 
tion he  remained  for  the  space  of  seven  hours ;  suffering 
intense  bodily  anguish,  and  perishing  with  the  thirst 
engendered  by  the  fever  which  supervened ;  without 
daring,  although  upon  the  very  bank  of  the  liver,  to 
permit  his   companion  to   bring  him  water,  lest  the  dis- 


THE     COURT      OF     FRANCE.  527 

turbed  appearance  of  the  hay  should  betray  his  retreat ; 
and,  meanwhile,  he  heard  on  every  side  the  voices  of  the 
horsemen  who  had  been  sent  in  pursuit,  some  of  which 
he  distinctly  recognized.  At  three  o'clock  in  the  morning 
he  was  released  by  his  friends,  and  placed  upon  a  litter, 
which  was  carried  by  two  peasants  to  a  barn  about  a 
league  distant,  where  he  was  once  more  concealed  among 
the  hay ;  but  being  well  supplied  with  water,  and  com- 
paratively in  safety,  he  fell  into  a  deep  and  refreshing 
sleep. 

Toward  evening  the  Duke  and  Duchess  de  Brissac 
arrived  with  fifteen  or  twenty  horsemen,  and  conveyed 
him  to  Beaupreau,  where  he  remained  one  night,  until 
the  nobility  had  assembled  :  when  M.  de  Brissac,  who 
was  extremely  popular,  succeeded  in  collecting  more 
than  two  hundred  gentlemen ;  and  M.  de  Retz,*  who  was 
still  more  so  in  his  own  neighborhood,  joined  the  escort  a 
few  leagues  farther  on  with  three  hundred  more.  Thus 
attended,  the  cardinal  and  his  friends  passed  within  sight 
of  Nantes,  where  they  had  a  skirmish  with  some  of  the 
guards  of  the  marshal,  who  were  vigorously  repulsed,  and 
driven  back  within  the  gates ;  after  which  the  party  pro- 
ceeded without  further  molestation  to  Machecoul,  which 
being  situated  in  the  territory  of  Retz,  was  a  place  of 
safety  for  the  cardinal,  as  at  that  period  every  noble  was 
the  sovereign  of  his  own  province.t 

The  injury  which  the  cardinal  had  received  rendered 
his  intention  of  reaching  the  capital  impossible,  as  the 
delay  which  it  had  occasioned  had  given  time  to  his 
enemies  to  conceit  their  measures ;  but  their  dismay  was 
nevertheless  great.  The  Chancellor  Seguier,  and  Servien, 
who  had  proposed  to  poison  him,  were  already  preparing 
to  leave   Paris,   when    the    report    reached    them   of  his 

*  Henry  de  Gondi,  Duke  de  Retz,  the  brother  of  the  cardinal, 
t  Memoires  du  Cardinal  de  Retz. 


528  LOUIS  XIV.  AND  THE  COURT  OF  FRANCE. 

accident  and  its  results:  upon,  which  they  contented 
themselves  by  communicating  the  event  to  the  king,  who 
forthwith  issued  an  order  for  the  arrest  of  the  fugitive, 
wherever  he  might  be  found. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Court  of  Louis  XIV. — Olympia  de  Mancini ;  her  Favor  with  the  King — 
Henrietta  of  England  and  her  Daughter — Rudeness  of  Louis  XIV.  to 
the  English  Princess — Misunderstanding  between  Louis  XIV.  and 
Anne  of  Austria — Attempted  Opposition  of  the  Parliament — Extraor- 
dinary Proceeding  of  the  King — the  Cardinal  de  Retz  in  Rome — 
Marriage  of  Laura  de  Martinozzi  with  the  Duke  of  Modena — Capit- 
ulation of  Landrecies — More  Victories  obtained  by  the  Royal  Forces 
— The  Count  de  Soissons — Arrival  of  Christina  of  Sweden;  her  Por- 
trait, by  the  Duke  de  Guise — Jealousy  of  Olympia  de  Mancini — The 
Reception  of  Christina;  her  Destitution;  her  Portrait  by  Mademoi- 
selle; her  Visit  to  Ninon  del'Enclos;  her  Departure — New  Campaign 
of  Louis  XIV. — Death  of  Madame  de  Mancini  and  the  Duchess  de 
Merccour — Compliments  of  Condolence — Mortification  of  Olympia  de 
Mancini ;  her  Resentment ;  her  Marriage — Coldness  of  the  King — 
Courtly  Conjectures — the  Italian  Opera — The  young  Stranger. 

Meanwhile,  Louis  was  once  more  absorbed  in  pleasure, 
and  surrounded  by  a  bevy  of  young  beauties;  among  whom 
the  most  prominent  were  the  Mancini,  the  Martinozzi.  the 
vol.  i. — Z 


530  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

Comminges,  the  Beuvron,  the  Villeroy,  the  Mortemart,  and 
Madame  de  Sevigne,  already  admired  for  her  graceful  per- 
son, and  beginning  to  acquire  a  reputation  by  her  witty  and 
entertaining  letters.  Though  he  had  smiled  at  the  conceit  of 
the  too  plain-spoken  Count  de  Guiche,  the  young  king  had 
never  either  forgotten  or  forgiven  the  taunt  to  which  he  had 
been  subjected  by  his  favorite  on  the  subject  of  Madame 
de  Beauvais ;  and  incited  by  the  example  of  his  most  inti- 
mate companions,  anxious  to  assert  his  independence,  and 
prompted  moreover  by  his  natural  tendency  to  gallantry,  he 
resolved  to  attach  himself  to  the  most  beautiful  woman  of 
the  court ;  when,  having  carefully  observed  all  those  with 
whom  he  was  brought  into  immediate  contact,  his  choice 
fell  upon  Olympia  Mancini. 

This  young  beauty,  whose  intellect  rivaled  her  fascina- 
tions, was  vain,  witty,  and  ambitious;  and  deemed  no  sac- 
rifice too  great  by  which  she  could  gratify  either  her  ambi- 
tion or  her  resentment.  Her  tact  was  unequaled,  and  her 
conduct  was  one  long  comedy.  Toward  the  king  she  was 
all  modest  devotion ;  and  even  while  she  hung  upon  his 
words  with  a  smothered  joy  which  led  her  to  form  the  wild- 
est visions,  she  appeared  to  shrink  within  herself  whenever 
he  approached.  Her  demeanor  with  the  queen  was  not  less 
skillfully  studied;  she  was  devout,  serious,  and  humble.  To 
her  uncle  she  was  all  submission  and  obedience ;  and  with 
the  young  nobles  by  whom  she  was  surrounded,  and  whose 
homage  and  admiration  she  received  rather  as  a  right  than 
as  a  tribute  accorded  not  only  to  her  own  beauty,  but  also 
to  the  position  of  the  cardinal,  she  was  at  once  coquetish, 
witty,  amiable,  and  endearing. 

On  her  first  appearance  at  court,  when  the  Marshal  de 
Villeroy  uttered  the  prophecy  which  had  since  been  partial- 
ly accomplished  by  the  marriages  of  her  sister  and  her  cou- 
sin, one  of  whom  had  become  Duchess  de  Mercceur,  and 
the  other  Princess  de  Conti,  Olympia  Mancini  had  given  no 
promise  of  the  radiant  beauty  into  which  she  afterward 


THE     COURT     O  F     FRANCE.  ,r)31 

expanded.  She  was  then  thin  and  meager,  with  a  long  face, 
a  dark  complexion,  a  large  mouth,  and  an  unpromising  fig- 
ure. At  eighteen  she  had,  however,  revenged  herself  upon 
the  gracelessness  of  her  youth  ;  for,  if  the  testimony  of  Ma- 
dame de  Motteville  may  be  taken,  she  had,  as  her  person  be- 
came more  formed,  acquired  a  singular  fairness  of  complex- 
ion, and  an  attractive  contour  of  countenance ;  her  mouth 
had  become  smaller,  and  her  Sicilian  eye,  which  had  always 
been  large  and  beautiful,  was  full  of  light ;  while  even  her 
hands  and  arms  had  grown  into  a  symmetry  that  rendered 
them  remarkable. 

In  the  absence  of  Mademoiselle  and  the  Duchess  de 
Longueville,  Olympia,  through  the  passion  of  the  king,  be- 
came almost  the  queen  of  the  court;  for  although,  in  recog- 
nition of  her  rank,  Louis  always  opened  the  ball  with  Ma- 
dame de  Mercceur,  he  had  no  sooner  made  this  concession  to 
etiquet  than  he  resigned  her  hand,  only  to  retain  that  of 
her  sister  throughout  the  remainder  of  the  evening.  Still 
Anne  of  Austria  laughed  at  the  comments  of  those  by  whom 
she  was  surrounded;  and  so  resolutely  refused  to  recognize 
in  all  these  demonstrations  any  thing  more  serious  than  a 
mere  passing  caprice,  that  there  were  not  wanting  those 
who  suspected  that  the  Queen-Mother  desired  nothing  more 
earnestly  than  the  union  of  her  son,  sovereign  though  he 
was,  with  the  niece  of  the  Italian  cardinal.  Thus  no  check 
was  placed  upon  this  budding  passion,  at  which  the  queen 
smiled,  and  the  minister  laughed  incredulously;  while  Olym- 
pia herself  began  to  dream  that  a  crown  would  ere  long  be 
laid  at  her  feet. 

It  was  yet  in  its  first  fervor,  when  Anne  of  Austria  on 
one  occasion  gave  a  ball  in  her  own  private  apartments,  to 
which  no  one  was  invited  save  her  immediate  circle  ;  as  it 
was  intended  merely  fin-  the  amusement  of  the  Queen  of 
England  and  her  young  daughter,  who  were  precluded  by 
their  misfortunes  from  all  participation  in  the  general  diver- 
sions of  the  court. 


532  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

We  have  for  a  considerable  rime,  made  no  mention  of 
these  royal  exiles,  whose  life  of  retirement,  and  almost  of 
obscurity,  caused  them  to  be  overlooked,  even  if  not  forgot- 
ten ;  and  the  appearance  of  the  fair  and  timid  girl,  who, 
bathed  in  blushes,  half  tearful  and  half  joyous,  entered  the 
saloon  of  Anne  of  Austria  that  evening,  created  neither  at- 
tention nor  sympathy.  It  was,  nevertheless,  expedient  that 
Louis,  whatever  might  be  the  tendency  of  his  inclination, 
should  lead  out  the  Princess  Henrietta,  whose  rank,  no  less 
than  her  misfortunes,  entitled  her  to  this  distinction  ;  and 
the  general  surprise  was  consequently  great,  when,  at  the 
first  sound  of  the  violins,  the  young  king,  according  to  his 
habit,  approached  the  Duchess  de  Mercceur,  and  took  her 
hand  to  conduct  her  to  her  place. 

Indignant  at  this  breach,  alike  of  etiquet  and  of  good 
feeling,  the  Queen-Mother  immediately  rose  from  her  seat, 
and  withdrawing  the  hand  of  the  duchess  from  that  of  her 
son,  desired  him,  in  a  low  voice,  to  commence  the  branslc 
with  the  English  princess  ;  to  which  he  replied  testily,  that 
he  was  "not  fond  of  little  girls;"  an  uncourteous  rejoinder 
which  was  unfortunately  overheard  by  Henrietta-Maria, 
who,  perceiving  the  extreme  displeasure  of  her  royal  rela- 
tive, and  the  cloud  that  had  gathered  upon  the  brow  of  the 
king,  hastened  to  entreat  that  she  would  not  constrain  His 
Majesty's  wishes  ;  and  the  rather  as  her  daughter  had  sprain- 
ed her  ankle,  and  was  unable  to  dance.  This  remonstrance 
only  strengthened  the  resolution  of  Anne  of  Austria  ;  who 
replied  by  saying,  that  if  the  Princess  of  England  were  com- 
pelled to  remain  a  spectator  of  the  ball  throughout  the  even- 
ing, the  King  of  France  must  do  the  same;  and  this  fiat 
having  gone  forth,  Louis  accommodated  himself  to  the  ne- 
cessity with  the  best  grace  he  could  assume,  and  led  out  the 
little  princess,  who  having,  as  well  as  her  royal  mother,  over- 
heard his  ungracious  remark,  danced  with  the  tears  stream- 
ing down  her  cheeks. 

It  was  at  this  moment  that  she  first  drew  upon  herself 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  533 

the  attention  of  the  court.  She  had  heen  reared  amid  pri- 
vation and  tears  at  Colombe,  whither  the  widowed  queen 
had  retired ;  and  although  she  had  attained  her  eleventh 
year,  and  was  consequently  near  the  age  at  which  the  hand 
of  persons  of  her  rank  were  already  coveted  by  such  of  the 
European  princes  as  sought  to  form  a  matrimonial  alliance, 
her  peculiar  position  had  disinherited  her  of  the  privileges  of 
her  birth.  The  victim  of  a  national  revolution,  exiled,  pow- 
erless, living  upon  the  bounty  of  her  relatives,  and  overlooked 
by  all  who  would  have  paid  her  homage  had  she  been  in  more 
prosperous  circumstances,  she  was  rapidly  growing  in  beau- 
ty, in  intellect,  and  in  grace,  unheeded,  and  unencouraged. 

On  the  departure  of  her  guests,  the  first  serious  misun- 
derstanding which  had  ever  taken  place  occurred  between 
Anne  of  Austria  and  the  king.  She,  remembering  only  his 
youth,  ventured  upon  a  severe  reprimand  ;  which  he,  strong 
in  his  position,  resented  with  a  determination  as  haughty 
as  it  was  unexpected;  declaring  that  he  had  been  sufficient- 
ly coerced  during  his  boyhood,  and  that  he  was  no  longer 
disposed  to  submit  to  a  dictation  of  which  he  had  long  been 
weary.  Abundance  of  tears  were  shed  on  both  sides ;  and, 
at  length,  after  mutual  concessions,  a  reconciliation  took 
place,  which  was,  however,  far  from  tranquilizing  the  mind 
of  the  queen ;  who  began  thenceforward  to  reflect  more  se- 
riously than  she  had  yet  done  upon  the  possible  results  of  a 
passion,  whose  first  fruits  were  the  transformation  of  the 
king  into  a  mere  headstrong  and  ungracious  stripling. 

Those  who  had  suspected  her  of  favoring  the  pretensions 
of  Mademoiselle  de  Mancini  knew  little  of  the  haughty  and 
ambitious  spirit  of  Anne  of  Austria.  Her  feeling  of  secu- 
rity had  grown  out  of  what  she  held  to  be  the  utter  impos- 
sibility of  so  unequal  an  alliance.  She  well  knew  the  ex- 
treme pride  of  Louis,  and  she  had  looked  upon  it  as  an  im- 
pregnable barrier,  which  must  place  him  beyond  all  peril ; 
but  she  forgot,  at  the  same  time,  to  speculate  upon  the  grat- 
ified vanity,  and  the  ardent  passions  of  his  age. 


534  L  U  V  I  S      XIV.      A  N  u 

Nor  had  the  altercation  a  less  enduring  effect  upon  the 
king.  He  had  at  last  asserted  himself;  and  he  resolved 
not  again  to  fall  back  into  the  state  of  passive  submission 
from  which  a  few  words  had  sufficed  to  emancipate  him. 
He  formed  the  determination  at  a  critical  moment ;  for  he 
had  scarcely  insisted  upon  his  social  rights,  ere  he  found  an 
opportunity  of  asserting  with  equal  authority  his  regal  priv- 
ileges. 

Fouquet,  who  administered  largely  and  ungrudgingly  to 
his  luxury,  was  anxious  to  insure  the  registry  of  some  edicts 
by  the  parliament,  and  communicated  the  necessity  of  their 
acceptance  to  the  king,  who  immediately  attended  the  meet- 
ing, and  by  his  presence  alone  carried  the  measure ;  but  he 
had  scarcely  left  the  chamber  ere  a  proposal  was  made  that 
the  registry  should  be  opposed ;  and  immediately  all  the 
remnant  which  remained  of  the  Fronde,  all  the  friends  of 
the  prince,  and  the  adherents  of  the  Cardinal  de  Retz,  who 
only  required  a  slight  incitement  to  renew  their  disaffection, 
broke  out  into  murmurs,  which,  like  the  breathing  of  far-off 
thunder,  threatened  to  be  the  precursors  of  a  storm.  The 
king  had,  after  attending  the  parliament,  left  the  capital  for 
Vincennes,  where,  since  the  departure  of  M.  de  Retz,  he 
had  established  his  summer  residence ;  but  the  report  no 
sooner  reached  him,  than  he  dispatched  an  order  to  the 
chamber  to  reassemble  on  the  morrow. 

This  arrangement  disconcerted  the  whole  court,  as  a  grand 
hunt  had  been  organized  for  that  day,  at  which  all  the  court 
ladies  were  to  be  present ;  and  Louis  was  accordingly  over- 
whelmed with  remonstrances  and  entreaties  that  he  would 
delay  the  assembly  ;  but  they  were  at  once  astonished  and 
pacified  by  his  assurance  that  the  public  business  should  not 
be  permitted  to  interfere  with  the  hunt. 

Accordingly,  at  half-past  nine  on  the  morning  of  the  10th 
of  April,  the  deputies  of  the  chamber,  who  had  been  sent  to 
meet  the  king,  were  thunderstruck  to  see  him  arrive  in  his 
hunting-dies?,  consisting  of  a  scarlet  coat,  a  gray  beaver. 


THE     COURT     OF      FRANCE.  535 

and  high  boots,  followed  by  all  the  nobles  of  his  court  in  a 
similar  costume;  and  "in  this  unusual  attire,"  says  the 
Marquis  de  Montglat,  grand  master  of  the  wardrobe,  "  he 
heard  mass,  took  his  place  with  the  accustomed  ceremonies, 
and,  with  a  whip  in  his  hand,  declared  to  the  parliament 
that  in  future  it  was  his  will  that  his  speeches  should  be 
registered  and  not  discussed ;  thi'eatening  that,  should  the 
contrary  occur,  he  would  return  and  enforce  obedience." 

This  bold  stroke  of  diplomacy,  hazarded  by  a  youth  of 
eighteen,  with  all  the  reckless  daring  of  his  age,  was  calcu- 
lated either  to  excite  a  general  insurrection,  or  to  insure  a 
passive  obedience.  Fortunately  for  the  young  monarch  it 
produced  the  latter  result.  France  was  already  weary  of 
revolt ;  and  the  parliament,  which  did  not  fear  to  try  its 
strength  against  the  minister,  did  not  care  to  contend  against 
the  king.  The  Fronde,  consequently,  heaved  its  last  sigh 
upon  this  occasion  in  the  chambers  ;  and  every  thing  ap- 
peared to  second  the  wishes  of  Louis. 

From  Machecoul  the  Cardinal  de  Retz  had  retired  to 
Belleisle,  whence,  pursued  by  the  troops  of  M.  de  la  Meil- 
leraye,  he  had  embarked  for  Spain ;  and,  having  traversed 
the  Peninsula,  subsequently  reached  Rome,  precisely  in  time 
to  join  the  funeral  procession  of  Innocent  X.,  his  protector. 
Nothing  more,  therefore,  remained  to  be  feared  from  the 
restless  prelate  than  his  ill-services  at  the  papal  court,  which 
could  not  extend  beyond  an  interference  with  the  election 
of  one  of  the  friends  of  Mazarin  to  the  Conclave  ;  and  could 
in  no  way  compromise  the  interests  of  France.* 

Meanwhile  the  minister  found  a  consolation  for  this  slight 
annoyance  in  marrying  another  of  his  nieces,  Laura  Mar- 
tinozzi,  to  the  elder  son  of  the  Duke  de  Modena ;  who, 
without  possessing  the  eminent  qualities  of  her  sister,  the 
Princess  de  Conti,  nevertheless,  by  her  correct  conduct  and 
amiable  disposition,  endeared  herself  greatly  to  the  noble 
family  of  which  she  thus  became  a  member. 
*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


536  LOUIS     XIV.     A  N  D 

Nor  was  Louis  XIV.  less  fortunate  in  his  indemnifica- 
tion ;  for,  ere  long,  news  reached  Paris  that  Turenne  had 
obtained  another  victory,  and  that  Landrecies  had  capitu- 
lated. Upon  receiving  this  intelligence  the  king  determin- 
ed to  assist  in  the  campaign  ;  and  he  accordingly  joined  the 
army,  and  proceeded  to  besiege  the  city  of  Conde,  which 
was  taken  at  the  end  of  the  third  day ;  and  within  a  fort- 
night St.  Quilain  also  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  royalist 
troops,  when  Louis  determined  upon  returning  to  Paris, 
leaving  his  generals  to  fortify  the  conquered  cities ;  and  he 
reappeared  in  his  capital  only  to  be  more  lauded  and  more 
idolized  than  ever. 

Olympia  Manciui  was  still  the  first  object  of  his  attention. 
It  was  for  her  that  ballads  were  composed,  comedies  per- 
formed, and  festivals  invented.  The  passion  of  the  young 
conqueror  was  sung  by  Loret,  the  court-poet ;  recorded  by 
Madame  de  Motteville  ;*  and  contemplated  with  increasing 
anxiety  by  the  queen  ;  who,  on  the  occasion  of  a  tourney 
given  by  the  king  in  honor  of  the  young  beauty,  failed  not 
to  remark  the  emphatic  salutation  which  he  addressed  to 
Mademoiselle  de  Mancini,  who  was  seated  among  the  ladies 
of  the  royal  suite ;  while  every  eye  turned  from  the  scarlet 
and  white  scarf  and  plumes  of  the  sovereign,  to  the  scarlet 
damask,  looped  with  white  rosets,  worn  by  the  fair  niece 
of  the  cardinal.  The  games  were  led  by  the  king  himself, 
the  Duke  de  Guise,  and  the  Duke  de  Candale,  each  attend- 
ed by  eight  nobles,  and  followed  by  pages  and  trumpeters. 
Every  detail  of  costume  and  chivalry  was  strictly  observed ; 
and,  as  a  natural  consequence,  Louis  bore  away  the  laurels 
of  the  day  from  his  really  less  skillful  or  more  complaisant 
competitors. 

It  was  upon  this  occasion  diat  the  Prince  Eugene  Mau- 

■*  "  The  king,  continuing  to  love  Mademoiselle  de  Mancini,  sometimes 
more,  sometimes  less,  determined,  in  order  to  amuse  himself,  to  cele- 
brate a  course  at  the  ring,  after  the  fashion  of  ancient  chivalry."' — 
M6moires  pour  servir  d  VHistoire  d' Anne  cFAiUrit  h  . 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  537 

rice  of  Savoy,  who  had  recently  become  Count  de  Soissons 
by  the  death  of  his  elder  brother,  first  saw  Olympia  de  Man- 
cini.  Intended  for  the  church,  he  had  for  twenty  years 
been  under  ecclesiastical  tuition ;  but,  upon  becoming  the 
heir  of  his  house,  he  had  been  suddenly  called  upon  to  as- 
sume his  place  in  the  world,  and  to  exchange  his  breriary 
for  a  troop  in  the  Mancini  regiment  of  cavalry ;  while  his 
family,  anxious  to  prevent  the  extinction  of  the  noble  race 
which  was  destined  to  produce  the  famous  Prince  Eugene, 
lost  no  time  in  seeking,  among  the  first  blood  of  the  king- 
dom, a  wife  whose  birth  and  virtues  might  alike  entitle  her 
to  so  great  an  alliance. 

Having  passed  so  instantaneously  from  the  cloister  to  the 
palace,  the  Count  de  Soissons  was  a  novice  in  all  worldly 
things,  utterly  ignorant  of  court  intrigue,  and  an  enthusi- 
astic admirer  of  female  beauty.  The  loveliness  of  Olym- 
pia consequently  made  its  impression ;  nor  was  he  insensi- 
ble to  the  luster  that,  was  shed  about  her  by  the  homage 
of  the  king,  which  was  so  undisguised  as  to  delude  many 
beside  the  young  beauty  herself  into  the  belief  that  she 
had  become  indispensable  to  his  happiness  ;  an  impres- 
sion which  had  grown  into  such  strength  as  to  occasion  a 
visible  coolness  between  the  queen  and  the  cardinal,  who 
persisted  in  treating  the  whole  affair  as  a  mere  passing 
caprice. 

The  court  had  scarcely  removed  to  Compiegne  for  the 
summer,  when  it  was  announced  to  the  king  that  Queen 
Christina  of  Sweden  had  arrived  on  the  frontier,  where  she 
awaited  his  invitation  to  enter  the  kingdom ;  upon  which 
he  immediately  gave  an  order  to  the  Duke  de  Guise  to 
hasten  to  meet  her  with  an  assurance  of  the  sincere  wel- 
come with  which  she  would  be  greeted.  Anne  of  Austria 
also  dispatched  the  Count  de  Comminges,  the  captain  of 
her  guard,  on  the  same  errand  ;  and  the  court  was  all  im- 
patience to  witness  the  arrival  of  the  celebrated  daughter 
of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  of  whom  such  extraordinary  reports 


538  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

were  rife,  and  who  had  just  abjured  her  religion  and  em- 
braced Romanism  in  the  capital  of  the  Pope. 

As  the  Duke  de  Guise  was  retiring,  after  having  taken 
leave  of  Her  Majesty,  the  Duchess  de  Chevreuse  drew  him 
apart,  and  entreated  him,  so  soon  as  he  should  have  seen 
Christina,  to  send  her  a  written  portrait  of  the  pilgrim- 
queen  ;  the  duke,  however,  declined  for  some  time  to  com- 
mit himself  by  such  a  document ;  and  it  was  only  upon  the 
express  promise  of  Madame  de  Chevreuse  that  it  should  be 
kept  secret  from  both  Louis  and  Anne  of  Austria,  that  he 
reluctantly  consented  to  send  her  the  desired  letter.  M.  de 
Guise  proved  more  faithful  to  his  pledge  than  herself;  for 
the  private  communication  of  the  duke  soon  made  the  tour 
of  the  court  circle.     Thus  it  ran  : 

"  I  will,  while  I  am  myself  cruelly  uncomfortable,  en- 
deavor to  amuse  you  by  forwarding  the  portrait  of  the 
queen,  whom  I  accompany.  She  is  not  tall,  but  her  figure 
is  plump,  her  arm  beautiful,  her  hand  white  and  well  form- 
ed, although  more  like  that  of  a  man  than  a  woman  ;  one 
shoulder  higher  than  the  other,  a  defect  which  she,  howev- 
er, conceals  so  cleverly  by  the  singularity  of  her  dress,  that 
you  might  venture  a  bet  as  to  its  existence.  Her  face  is 
large,  without  being  faulty ;  all  the  features  the  same,  and 
strongly  marked  ;  her  nose  aquiline  ;  her  mouth  rather  wide, 
but  not  disagreeable ;  her  teeth  tolerable  ;  her  eyes  very 
fine  and  full  of  fire  ;  her  skin,  notwithstanding  a  few  marks 
of  small-pox,  tolerably  clear  and  fair ;  the  outline  of  her  face 
passable  enough,  but  surmounted  by  a  very  fantastical  head- 
dress— a  species  of  man's  wig,  very  large  and  extremely 
raised  above  the  forehead,  very  thick  at  the  sides,  and  ter- 
minating in  thin  points.  The  summit  of  her  head  is  a  mass 
of  hair;  and  at  the  back  it  has  somewhat  the  look  of  a  wo- 
man's coiffure.  Sometimes  she  wears  a  hat.  Her  bodice 
is  laced  across  the  back,  as  our  doublets  were  wont  to  be  ; 
and  her  chemise  is  drawn  through  all  round  above  her  pet- 
ticoat, which  she  ties  very  loosely,  and  not  over  straight. 


T  HE     C  u  L  IS  T     0  t      g  K  A  N  C  E.  5,'3<J 

She  is  always  very  much  powdered,  with  a  quantity  of  po- 
matum ;  and  never  wears  gloves ;  she  is  shod  like  a  man 
and  has  the  voice  and  manners  of  one.  She  affects  ex- 
tremely to  enact  the  Amazon.  She  possesses  at  least  as 
much  pride  and  hauteur  as  her  father,  the  great  Gustavus, 
but  is  very  courteous  and  kind;  and  speaks  eight  lano-ua^es, 
and,  above  all,  French,  as  though  she  had  been  born  in 
Paris.  She  knows  more  than  all  our  Academy  and  the  Sor- 
bonne  put  together ;  understands  painting,  as  well  as  every 
thing  else,  admirably  ;  and  is  better  acquainted  with  all  the 
intrigues  of  our  court  than  I  am.  In  short,  she  is  altogether 
an  extraordinary  person.  I  shall  attend  her  to  Compiegne 
by  Paris ;  so  you  will  be  able  to  judge  for  yourself.  I  be- 
lieve that  I  have  omitted  nothing  in  her  portrait,  save  that 
she  sometimes  wears  a  sword,  with  a  belt  of  buffalo-hide  ; 
that  her  wig  is  black ;  and  that  she  has  nothing  over  her 
neck  save  a  scaif  of  the  same  color."* 

The  curiosity  exhibited  by  the  king  on  the  subject  of  this 
extraordinary  stranger  was  so  great  as  to  awaken  a  first 
pang  of  jealousy  in  the  bosom  of  Mademoiselle  de  Man- 
cini,  who  had  so  long  been  accustomed  to  find  herself  the 
all-absorbing  object  of  his  attention  that  she  could  ill 
brook  the  lively  expressions  of  his  awakened  interest  in 
Christina. 

The  passion  of  Louis  had  not,  however,  at  that  period, 
sufficiently  abated  to  render  the  cloud  which  had  so  sud- 
denly gathered  upon  her  brow,  and  the  silence  which  she 
resolutely  maintained  on  the  subject  of  the  extraordinary 
woman  who  had  abdicated  a  throne,  in  order  to  free  herself 
from  the  trammels  of  regal  responsibilities,  otherwise  than 
as  an  added  charm.  His  vanity  was  flattered  by  so  marked 
an  evidence  of  his  power  over  the  feelings  of  a  young  and 
beautiful  woman  ;  and,  with  the  natural  weakness  of  his 
age,  far  from  endeavoring  to  calm  her  fears,  he  fed  them  by 
a  continual  and  conspicuous  exhibition  of  his  anxiety  for 
*  Extracted  from  the  Memoires  of  Madame  de  Motteville. 


540  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

the  advent  of  one  whom  she  already  began  to  consider  as  a 
rival. 

Nor  was  the  queen  less  inclined  to  believe  that  the  eccen- 
tricities of  Christina  might  affect  that  change  in  the  feelings 
of  the  king,  which  her  own  expostulations  had  failed  to  pro- 
duce. There  is  a  strange  charm  in  novelty ;  and  Anne  of 
Austria  began  to  hope  that  she  should  acquire  a  powerful 
although  an  unconscious  ally  in  the  Swedish  sovereign. 

At  Essonne*  the  royal  visitor  halted,  in  order  to  be  pres- 
ent at  a  ballet,  a  comedy,  and  an  exhibition  of  fireworks, 
which  had  been  prepared  in  her  honor  ;  after  which  she 
made  her  entry  into  Paris,  escorted  by  two  lines  of  armed 
citizens,  who  had  received  her  at  the  gates,  and  who  lined 
the  streets  from  Conflans,t  where  she  had  passed  the  night, 
to  the  Louvre,  where  she  was  to  alight.  The  crowd  which 
collected  to  see  her  pass  was  so  great  that,  although  she 
reached  Paris  two  hours  after  mid-day,  she  did  not  arrive 
at  the  palace  until  nine  o'clock  at  night,  where  she  was  re- 
ceived by  the  Prince  de  Conti.| 

The  effect  produced  by  Christina  was  more  favorable 
than  had  been  anticipated  from  her  eccentric  reputation  ; 
for  although  the  singularity  of  her  costume  was  displeasing 
at  the  first  glance,  it  was  one  to  which  the  eye  became 
easily  habituated ;  and  where  she  had  resolved  to  please 

*  Essonne  is  a  village  in  the  department  of  Seine  and  Oise,  about  thir- 
teen leagues  from  Versailles.  Its  ancient  name  was  Axona  or  Exona ; 
and  it  was  originally  only  a  royal  villa,  which,  in  the  sixth  century,  was 
given  by  Clotaire  to  the  Abbey  of  St.  Denis.  Subsequently,  this  estate 
and  some  others  were  granted  to  the  monks  by  the  Abbe  Hilduin,  in 
832,  when  a  village  was  built  about  it,  with  a  church.  The  soil  pro- 
duces a  great  quantity  of  peat,  which  has  been  an  object  of  industry 
since  the  reign  of  Louis  XIII. 

t  Conflans  is  a  town  situated  within  one  league  of  Pontoise,  and  six 
of  Paris,  where,  on  the  1st  of  October,  1465,  a  famous  treaty  was  con- 
cluded between  Louis  XI.  and  the  Count  de  Charolais,  which  was  af- 
terward violated  by  the  king. 

t  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  541 

she  seldom  failed  in  the  attempt;  while  the  fearlessness  and 
aptitude  of  her  wit,  the  rich  resources  of  her  intellect,  and 
her  perfect  familiarity  with  all  the  individuals  of  the  French 
court,  and  all  the  events  in  which  they  had  been  actors, 
soon  withdrew  the  attention  of  those  around  her  from  her 
voluminous  wig  and  masculine  hoots. 

After  remaining  for  a  few  days  in  Paris,  she  proceeded 
to  Compiegne  to  visit  the  king  and  queen,  and  was  met  at 
Chantilly  by  the  cardinal ;  who  was  followed  two  hours 
afterward  by  Louis  XIV.  and  the  Duke  d'Anjou,  both  of 
whom  arrived  as  private  individuals,  and  entered  her  apart- 
ment in  the  midst  of  the  crowd  of  courtiers  forming  the 
suite  of  Mazarin.  They  had  no  sooner  appeared  than  the 
cardinal  presented  them  to  the  Swedish  queen,  remarking 
that  they  were  two  of  the  most  nobly-born  gentlemen  in 
France ;  when  the  reply  of  Christina,  as  she  saluted  her 
august  visitors,  was  accompanied  by  a  smile,  as  she  observed 
that  she  had  no  doubt  of  it,  since  their  birthright  was  a 
crown.  She  had  remarked  their  portraits  at  the  Louvre, 
and  recognized  them  at  once.  On  the  following  day, 
Anne  of  Austria,  accompanied  by  the  king  and  the  whole 
court,  set  out  to  receive  the  royal  traveler  at  Fayet,  a  house 
belonging  to  the  Marshal  de  la  Motte-Houdancourt.  The 
carriage  of  Their  Majesties  was  preceded  by  a  strong  es- 
cort of  light-horse,  gendarmes,  and  guards ;  and  contained, 
beside  the  king  and  queen,  the  Duke  d'Anjou,  the  Duchess 
de  Lorraine,  the  Duchess  de  Mercceur,  and  the  Countess 
de  Flex,  lady  of  honor  to  Anne  of  Austria. 

When  the  illustrious  party  reached  Fayet,  Anne  of  Aus- 
tria, aware  that  Christina  was  at  no  great  distance,  resolved 
not  to  enter  the  house,  but  to  receive  her  royal  visitor  upon 
the  terrace,  surrounded  by  all  the  court,  who  were  in  fidl 
costume,  and  blazing  with  gold  and  jewels.  They  had  not 
long  to  wait  ere  the  Duke  de  la  Rochefoucauld  announced 
the  approach  of  the  Swedish  queen,  whose  carriage  drove 
into  the  court  amid  a  nourish  of  trumpets.     The  Cardinal 


5  t'Z  L  0  U 13     XI  V.     A  N  D 

Mazaiin  and  the  Duke  de  Guise,  by  whom  she  was  accom- 
panied, assisted  her  to  alight,  and  she  immediately  advanced 
toward  the  queen,  who  moved  forward  three  paces  to  re- 
ceive her;  and  only  a  few  biief  instants  had  elapsed  ere 
the  two  royal  strangers  were  conversing  in  a  frank  and  fa- 
miliar manner,  which  astonished  Anne  of  Austria,  although 
she  could  not  resist  the  charm  by  which  she  was  hurried 
into  this  sudden  intimacy. 

For  a  moment  the  French  queen  had  been  conscious  of 
the  ridiculous  appearance  of  her  royal  visitor,  but  in  the 
next  she  had  ceased  to  observe  it ;  and  when,  on  an  allu- 
sion to  the  portrait  of  her  son  in  the  Louvre,  she  extended 
her  arm  with  all  a  mother's  pride,  to  exhibit  one  which  she 
conceived  to  be  still  more  faithful,  and  which  formed  the 
clasp  of  her  bracelet,  Christina  exclaimed,  with  enthusiasm, 
on  the  loveliness  of  the  limb  that  it  adorned,  declaring  that 
she  would  willingly  have  made  the  journey  from  Rome  to 
Paris  for  no  other  purpose  than  that  of  seeing  a  hand  and 
arm  of  such  perfect  symmetry ;  Anne  of  Austria,  who  was 
extremely  vain,  and  with  reason,  of  this  uncommon  and  es- 
sentially feminine  beauty,  was  fairly  won. 

During  the  collation  which  had  been  prepared  for  her, 
Christina  ate  enormously,  and  spoke  little.  She  felt  that 
she  had  conciliated  the  queen  through  the  medium  of  her 
vanity  ;  while  she  had  equally  delighted  the  king  by  the 
marked  courtesy  which  she  had  exhibited  toward  Made- 
moiselle de  Mancini ;  and  she  knew  enough  of  courts  to  be 
aware  that  she  had  consequently  captivated  the  whole  circle. 

On  her  arrival  at  Compiegne  it  was  found  necessary  to 
supply  her  with  attendants  of  every  description,  as  she  had 
neither  ladies,  officers,  equipages,  nor  money ;  and  with  the 
exception  of  M.  Chanut,  who  had  been  the  Swedish  resi- 
dent during  her  reign,  and  two  or  three  insignificant  and 
obscure  gentlemen  upon  whom  she  bestowed  the  title  of 
counts,  she  was  absolutely  unattended.* 

*  Memoires  de  Madame  de  Motteville. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  543 

Christina  remained  several  days  at  Compiegne,  duiing 
which  she  unequivocally  astonished  all  about  her — discuss- 
ing politics  with  the  ministers,  science  with  the  learned,  and 
gallantly  with  the  courtiers.  She  accompanied  the  queen 
to  the  theater,  where  she  wept  heartily  at  the  tragedy,  and 
fell  into  convulsions  of  laughter  at  one  of  the  coarse  and 
pungent  farces  of  Scarron — electrifying  all  the  court  by  clap- 
ping her  hands,  and  resting  her  feet  upon  the  front  of  the 
royal  box,  as  composedly  as  if  she  had  been  in  her  own 
apartment. 

Remarking  her  taste  for  theatrical  amusements,  Anne  of 
Austria  next  took  her  to  see  a  tragedy  at  the  Jesuit  con- 
vent, which  she  ridiculed  without  mercy  ;  a  circumstance 
occasioned,  as  it  was  reported,  by  the  fact  that  the  head  of 
that  society  had  not  paid  his  respects  to  her  during  her  so- 
journ in  Rome.  On  hearing  this  rumor,  Father  Annat,  the 
king's  confessor,  waited  upon  her  to  reconcile  her,  if  possi- 
ble, with  the  order,  but  she  received  him  in  the  same  sar- 
castic spirit  which  she  had  exhibited  at  the  drama,  declar- 
ing that  she  should  be  delighted  to  make  her  peace  with 
the  reverend  fathers,  of  whose  power  she  was  so  well  aware 
that  she  should  prefer  a  misunderstanding  with  all  the  sov- 
ereigns of  Europe,  to  one  with  themselves ;  a  fact  which 
did  not,  nevertheless,  prevent  her  from  considering  them  to 
be  very  poor  tragedians. 

Mademoiselle,  whose  curiosity  was  naturally  excited  by 
all  she  heard  of  Christina,  received  permission  from  the 
king  (to  whom  she  had  wi-itten  to  request  it,  alledging  that, 
although  exiled  from  the  court,  she  could  not  permit  her- 
self to  visit  a  foreign  sovereign  without  his  sanction),  to  wait 
upon  her  at  Fontainebleau,  where  she  was  then  residing ; 
and  after  she  had  scrupulously  arranged  the  minutife  of  her 
reception,  insisting  upon  an  arm-chair,  and  sundry  other 
unimportant  matters  of  the  same  nature,  all  of  which  were 
conceded  with  perfect  indifference  by  the  Swedish  queen, 
she  made  an  elaborate  toilet;    and,  attended   by  four  of 


544  L  doia    xiv.    and 

her  ladies,  arrived  at  Fontainebleau,  where  she  was  receiv- 
ed by  M.  de  Guise,  the  Count  de  Comminges,  and  all  the 
officers  of  rank  who  were  in  waiting  upon  the  royal  visitor, 
whom  she  found  in  a  spacious  saloon,  surrounded  by  bench- 
es, in  which  she  was  about  to  witness  a  ballet. 

The  haughty  and  sarcastic  princess  confesses  that,  from 
the  reports  which  had  reached  her,  she  was  fearful  that  she 
should  not  be  able  to  preserve  her  gravity  during  the  pres- 
entation, and  she  was  extremely  alarmed  at  the  prospect 
of  committing  so  outrageous  a  solecism  in  good-breeding 
and  dignity.  But  the  result  was  very  different ;  for  as  the 
ushers  dispersed  the  glittering  throng  which  had  already 
assembled,  she  saw,  as  she  describes,  a  small  person,  habit- 
ed in  a  petticoat  of  gray  silk,  trimmed  with  gold  and  silver 
lace,  with  a  bodice  of  gold-colored  camlet,  trimmed  like 
the  skirt ;  a  handkerchief  of  Genoa-point  about  her  neck, 
fastened  with  a  knot  of  ribbon  of  the  same  color ;  a  light 
wig ;  and  holding  in  one  hand  a  hat,  covered  with  black 
plumes ;  very  fair  in  complexion,  with  blue  eyes,  varying 
greatly  and  rapidly  in  their  expression  ;  fine  teeth  ;  a  large 
and  aquiline  nose  ;  her  deformity  completely  concealed  by 
the  fashion  of  her  dress ;  and  looking,  upon  the  whole,  like 
a  handsome  boy. 

After  a  mutual  embrace,  the  princess  remained  to  wit- 
ness the  ballet,  highly  diverted  by  the  piquant  conversation 
of  her  new  acquaintance  :  and  at  its  conclusion  they  pro- 
ceeded together  to  the  theater  of  the  palace,  to  see  a  come- 
dy ;  where  the  rigid  propi'iety  of  Mademoiselle  was  for- 
midably outraged  by  the  emission  of  some  hearty  oaths 
which  Christina  delivered  with  considerable  unction  ;  and 
by  her  habit  of  throwing  her  legs  over  the  arms  of  her  chair, 
and  putting  herself  into  attitudes  common  only  to  the  buf- 
foons of  the  theaters. 

Finally,  this  Amazonian  princess  took  leave  of  the  court,  to 
the  great  regret  of  Anne  of  Austria,  and  proceeded  to  Sen- 
lis,  where  she  was  magnificently  welcomed  by  the  Marquis 


THE     COURT      OF      FRANCE.  545 

de  St.  Simon  ;  and  thence  again  to  the  Chateau  de  Fresne, 
on  a  visit  to  M.  and  Madame  Duplessis ;  after  which,  to  the 
consternation  of  every  one,  excited  by  a  curiosity  which  she 
resolved  at  all  risks  to  gratify,  upon  learning  that  Ninon  de 
l'Enclos  inhabited  a  country-house  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Fresne,  she  sent  her  word  that  she  was  desirous  to  make 
her  acquaintance ;  and  an  hour  after  the  departure  of  the 
messenger,  herself  drove  to  her  villa,  where  she  remained 
for  a  couple  of  hours,  and  on  her  departure  overwhelmed 
her  hostess  with  expressions  of  regard. 

This  done,  she  availed  herself  of  the  hired  carriages  which 
the  king  had  provided  for  her,  and  the  money  which  was  to 
defray  her  expenses,  and  departed,  with  her  sorry  suite, 
with  all  the  independence  of  a  private  gentlewoman. 

On  the  morrow,  the  king  and  the  cardinal  in  their  turn 
took  leave  of  the  queen,  in  order  to  join  M.  de  Turenne, 
who  was  in  command  of  the  royal  army  before  Capelle; 
and  as  the  enemy  had  left  St.  Q,uilain  in  order  to  reinforce 
it,  a  general  engagement  was  anticipated.  Seeing,  howev- 
er, that  it  was  delayed,  M.  Turenne  gave  notice  to  the  be- 
sieged that  if  they  did  not  surrender  on  the  morrow  they 
would  receive  no  quarter;  upon  which  M.  de  Charnilly, 
who  held  the  town  for  the  prince,  considered  it  more  ad- 
visable to  submit  than  to  incur  the  risk  of  a  battle.  Con- 
sequently, after  remaining  a  few  days  at  Guise,  and  having 
personally  conducted  a  convoy  to  St.  Quilain,  the  king  once 
more  returned  to  Paris,  heralded  by  a  victory  which  had 
been  obtained  without  any  loss  of  life,  and  which  might 
fairly  be  received  with  rejoicing  as  it  had  not  cost  a  tear. 

The  court  festivals  were,  however,  abruptly  terminated 
by  the  death  of  Madame  de  Mancini,  the  cardinal's  sister; 
and  this  death,  which  had  been  foretold  to  the  very  day  by 
her  deceased  husband,  strengthened  the  superstition  of  all 
those  who  were  cognizant  of  the  fact.  Its  effect  on  Maza- 
rin  was  very  great,  and  he  forthwith  secluded  himself  in  his 
apartments;  while  Olympia  and  her  sisters,  sincerely  afflict- 


546  L  O  L'  I  3     XIV.      A  N  D 

ed  by  the  loss  of  so  exemplary  a  parent,  retired  to  a  convent 
to  weep  unnoticed  and  unchidden.  But  even  there  a  newer 
and  an  equally  heavy  grief  awaited  them  ;  for  the  beautiful 
Duchess  de  Mercceur,  who  was  herself  on  the  eve  of  be- 
coming a  mother,  was  so  overwhelmed  with  anguish  on  re- 
ceiving the  last  blessing  of  the  exemplary  and  devoted  Ma- 
dame de  Mancini,  that  she  was  stricken  with  paralysis,  and 
only  survived  a  few  hours.  When  the  afflicting  news  of 
her  danger  reached  him,  the  cardinal  hastened  to  the  Hotel 
de  Vendome ;  but  she  was  only  able  to  welcome  him  by  a 
faint  gesture  and  a  tranquil  smile,  for  she  had  already  lost 
the  power  of  speech,  and  she  expired  the  moment  after  his 
entrance. 

The  grief  of  Mazarin  was  intense.  He  had  already  been 
sorely  tried  by  the  death  of  his  sister,  but  this  last  blow  en- 
tirely overcame  his  self-possession ;  and  the  rather  that  the 
same  prophet  who  had  furetold  this  double  demise  had 
also  predicted  that  he  himself  would  either  die  or  incur  dis- 
grace in  the  year  when  it  occurred.  As  he  looked  upon 
the  young  and  beautiful  woman  who  lay  dead  before  him, 
he  sobbed  aloud  ;  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  his  feel- 
ings were  imbittered  by  the  remeinbrance  of  the  prophecy 
which  had  foreshadowed  this  painful  bereavement. 

From  the  first  moment  of  her  illness,  Madame  de  Man- 
cini had  considered  herself  as  doomed ;  her  husband,  who 
was  a  great  astrologer,  having  not  only  foretold  his  own 
death,  and  that  of  his  son,  who  was  killed  at  the  Porte  St. 
Antoine,  but  also  predicted  that  she  would  not  survive  her 
forty-second  year.  For  a  time  she  had  believed  that  this 
last  prophecy  would  fail,  a  few  days  only  remaining  to  com- 
plete the  given  period ;  but  when  she  became  conscious  of 
approaching  indisposition,  she  at  once  resigned  herself  to 
her  fate;  and,  on  what  she  felt  to  be  her  death-bed,  entreat- 
ed her  brother  to  protect  her  two  youngest  daughters,  Mary 
and  Hortensia. 

To  this  he  readily  pledged  himself;  nor  was  it  the  only 


THE     COU  E  T     O  F     V  It  A  \  C  E.  547 

duty  which  he  was  called  upon  to  perform,  for  Madame  de 
Mercosur  left  behind  her  an  infant  of  a  day  old — the  same 
Duke  de  Vendome  who  was  fated,  forty  years  later,  to  save 
the  monarchy  of  Louis  XIV.* 

On  this  occasion  the  clergy,  the  parliament,  and  the  prin- 
cipal bodies  of  the  state,  hastened  to  overwhelm  the  cardi- 
nal with  the  most  ostentatious  condolences ;  and  the  jour- 
nals of  the  day  have  recorded  these  pompous  demonstra- 
tions, which  prove  how  thoroughly  Mazarin  had  repossessed 
himself  of  power. 

The  young  king  was,  however,  soon  wearied  of  this  cer- 
emonial mourning,  which  ill  accorded  with  his  love  of  pleas- 
ure and  amusement ;  and  utterly  forgetful,  or  regardless, 
of  the  grief  of  Mademoiselle  de  Mancini,  he  resumed  the 
ballets,  which  had  been  for  a  time  interrupted ;  and  a  new 
representation,  in  which  he  was  himself  the  principal  actor, 
accordingly  took  place  during  the  funeral  services  which 
the  clergy  were  performing  for  the  repose  of  the  soul  of  the 
cardinal's  sister ;  and  Olympia  required  no  further  evidence 
to  convince  her  that  she  had  miscalculated  her  power  over 
the  heart  of  a  king  who  could  find  diversion  in  emulating 
an  opera  dancer,  and  exhibiting  himself  crowned  with 
roses,  and  attired  in  a  tunic  sparkling  with  spangles,  while 
she  was  weeping  for  a  beloved  mother  and  sister. 

In  an  instant  she  discovered  the  truth  of  her  position  : 
she  saw  that  she  had  ministered  to  his  vanity,  but  had  never 
touched  his  heart;  and  she  had  too  much  pride  to  subject 
herself  to  a  neglect  which  would  make  her  a  proverb  to 
the  court.  The  first  pang  was  bitter,  for  her  ambition  and 
her  vanity  were  alike  trampled  into  the  dust ;  but  she  did 
not  hesitate  to  immolate  both  the  one  and  the  other,  in  or- 
der to  retain  her  self-respect.  The  Count  de  Soissons,  of 
whose  admiration  she  was  already  aware,  had  returned  to 
court  after  a  brief  visit  to  his  family ;  and  the  rumor  had 

*  Louis  XIV.  et  eon  S'ecle. 


548  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

already  spread,  that  the  Princess  de-Carignan,*  his  mother, 
had  entreated  the  queen  to  forward  the  interests  of  her  son, 
and  to  select  for  him  a  wife  worthy  to  enter  the  house  of 
Savoy,  and  to  become  the  bride  of  a  grandson  of  Charles  V. 

The  proud  spirit  of  Olympia  de  Mancini  rebounded  at 
the  hope  of  such  an  alliance ;  and  without  permitting  her- 
self to  turn  one  thought  upon  the  past,  she  hastened  to  im- 
press upon  the  cardinal  the  marked  change  which  had 
taken  place  in  the  feelings  of  the  king;  the  uneasiness 
which  his  former  preference  had  excited  in  the  breast  of 
the  Queen-Mother;  and  the  opportunity  which  now  pre- 
sented itself  of  accomplishing,  through  her  medium,  an  al- 
liance equal  to  those  which  he  had  secured  to  the  Princess 
de  Conti  and  the  Duchess  de  Modena. 

Mazarin  appreciated  on  the  instant  the  arguments  by 
which  he  was  assailed ;  and  after  complimenting  his  niece 
upon  her  prudence  and  self-government,  promised  to  exert 
all  his  influence  in  the  furtherance  of  so  desirable  an  ob- 
ject ;  nor  were  the  effects  of  his  interference  long  doubt- 
ful, for,  although  on  the  very  evening  of  the  day  upon  which 
this  interview  took  place,  every  one  had  remarked  the 
anxious  expression  of  the  queen,  and  the  tenacity  with 
which  she  watched  the  most  trivial  actions  of  the  king,  only 
two  days  afterward  the  cloud  had  passed  away,  and  she 
was  evidently  at  ease  ;  while  the  cause  of  this  rapid  change 
did  not  long  remain  doubtful,  as  she  was  heard  to  say  to 
the  Princess  de  Carignan  that  she  had  always  felt  con- 
vinced there  was  nothing  to  fear  from  such  an  attachment. t 

In  less  than  a  week  every  difficulty  was  overcome  by  the 
gold  of  the  cardinal  and  the  entreaties  of  the  queen,  who 
undertook  to  obtain  the  consent  of  her  son  to  this  alliance, 
little  foreseeing,  however,  how  readily  it  would  be  accord- 
ed ;  and  only  two  days  subsequently  the  betrothal  took 
place,  at  the  express  desire  of  the  king  himself,  in  his  own 

*  Daughter  of  the  celebrated  Count  de  Soissons. 

t  Memoires  pour  servir  k  l'Histoire  d'Aune  d'Autriche. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  549 

private  cabinet,  in  the  presence  of  Their  Majesties,  the 
Duke  d'Anjou,  the  Cardinal,  the  princesses  of  Conti  and 
Carignan,  Mademoiselle  de  Longueville  (who,  it  may  be 
remembered,  had  long  before  attached  herself  to  the  court), 
the  Ambassador  of  Savoy,  and  many  other  persons  of  dis- 
tinction. 

When  the  contracts  had  been  read  and  signed  by  the 
king,  the  queen,  and  the  several  witnesses,  the  Bishop  of 
Rennes,  grand-almoner  to  the  queen,  performed  the  cere- 
mony of  the  betrothal ;  and  at  its  termination  the  ambassa- 
dor of  Savoy  presented  to  the  bride,  as  the  gift  of  Madame 
Royalc*  a  magnificent  box  ornamented  with  the  portrait 
of  the  daughter  of  Henry  IV.,  and  a  set  of  diamonds  val- 
ued at  more  than  twenty  thousand  crowns.t 

Not  one  individual  who  possessed  the  privilege  of  the 
entree  was  absent  upon  this  occasion ;  for,  superadded  to 
the  thirst  for  amusement  and  variety  which  distinguished 
the  court  at  that  period,  the  additional  stimulant  of  curios- 
ity secured  their  attendance.  The  king  and  Mademoiselle 
de  Mancini  had  not  previously  met  since  the  question  of  the 
marriage  had  been  mooted,  and  some  display  of  agitation 
was  anticipated  ;  but  none  was  exhibited  ;  for  both  Louis 
XIV.  and  the  niece  of  the  cardinal  possessed  too  much  self- 
possession  to  offer  themselves  as  a  spectacle  to  the  court 
gossips,  and  thus  a  brief  but  courteous  salutation  was  alone 
exchanged  between  them. 

On  the  morrow,  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the 
Count  de  Soissons  entered  the  queen's  apartment,  leading 
his  bethrothed  bride,  that  day  to  become  his  wife ;  and  her 
extraordinary  loveliness  excited  a  murmur  of  general  ad- 
miration, as  she  advanced  and  bent  her  knee  to  the  gracious 
sovereign  to  whom  she  was  indebted  for  the  exalted  rank 
to  which  she  had  attained.  She  was  attired,  say  the  chron- 
icles of  the  time,  in  a  dress  of  cloth  of  silver,  bordered  with 

*  Dowager-Duchess  of  Savoy. 

t  Gazette  du  Temps,  24  Fevrier,  1G57. 


550  I,  O  U  I  S     XIV.     AND 

jewels,  and  wore  upon  her  head  a  single  spray  of  pearls 
estimated  at  more  than  five  hundred  thousand  livres.  The 
marriage  took  place  in  the  queen's  chapel:  and  after  dining 
in  private  with  the  Princess  de  Carignan,  the  bride  and 
bridegroom  proceeded  to  the  apartments  of  the  cardinal, 
where  a  magnificent  fete  awaited  them,  at  which  both  the 
king  and  his  brother  had  signified  their  intention  to  be 
present. 

When  Louis  approached  his  new  cousin  to  salute  her,  an 
honor  which  it  was  customary  for  him  to  confer  on  such 
brides  as  he  saw  fit  to  congratulate  upon  the  occasion  of 
their  marriage,  it  was  remarked  that  the  Countess  de  Sois- 
sons  turned  very  pale,  and  breathed  with  difficulty;  but  she 
soon  conquered  the  emotion  ;  and  in  another  moment  the 
blood  flushed  over  her  brow  and  bosom,  and  a  smile  rose 
to  her  lips.  The  king  lingered  for  a  considerable  time  be- 
side her;  and  it  was  evident  that  the  conversation  which 
ensued  was  deeply  interesting  to  both  parties,  although  no 
one  sentence  was  overheard,  as  the  courtiers  were  discreet 
enough  not  to  intrude  upon  its  privacy. 

When  the  king  at  length  rose  to  precede  the  guests  into 
the  great  saloon,  a  strain  of  consummate  melody  heralded 
his  appearance.  Mazarin,  who  had,  in  his  gratification  at 
the  splendid  alliance  of  his  niece,  resolved  to  make  his  av- 
arice for  once  subservient  to  his  magnificence,  had  import- 
ed from  Rome  the  principal  musicians  of  the  Pope's  choir, 
for  this  express  occasion  ;  and  the  French  court  listened  for 
the  first  time,  at  the  marriage  of  Olympia  de  Mancini,  to 
the  exquisite  voices  of  Italian  vocalists,  pouring  forth,  in 
waves  of  harmony,  which  rose  and  fell  upon  the  ears  of 
their  astonished  auditors  like  the  soft  but  mysterious  undu- 
lations of  a  summer  sea,  the  finest  compositions  of  Leo  and 
Scarletti.  This  sacred  music  (for  it  was  all  such)  had  been 
adapted  to  words  analogous  to  the  circumstance  ;  and  the 
sublime  canticles  which  had  inspired  each  divine  maestro 
were  now  replaced  by  amorous  ditties  and  sentimental  epi- 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  551 

thalamiums ;  a  species  of  metamorphosis  common  enough 
in  Italy,  however  singularly  misplaced  upon  this  particular 
occasion,  when  the  festival  was  given  by  one  of  the  princes 
of  the  church. 

Louis  XIV.,  astonished  and  enchanted  by  a  melody  of 
which  he  had  hitherto  never  conceived  the  existence,  learn- 
ed with  dismay  that  as  all  these  extraordinary  vocalists  were 
members  of  the  Sixtine  chapel,  they  were  compelled  to 
leave  Paris  on  the  following  morning,  on  their  return  to 
Rome.  It  chanced,  however,  that  they  had  brought  with 
them  a  young  Florentine  composer,  who  was  an  admirable 
performer  on  the  violin,  and  capable  of  conducting  an  or- 
chestra. This  youth  was  Lulli,*  who  was  immediately  en- 
gaged by  the  king,  to  remain  in  his  particular  service ;  but 
he  also,  perceiving  that  the  French  were  at  that  period  ut- 
ter barbarians  in  music,  made  his  conditions  before  he 
would  consent  thus  to  exile  himself  from  his  country ;  and 
a  new  band  was  formed  under  his  own  auspices,  which  re- 
ceived the  name  of  the  "  little  violins"  in  order  to  distin- 
guish it  from  that  already  organized. 

The  great  event  of  the  day  was,  however,  the  appear- 
ance at  this  festival  of  a  young  girl  upon  whom  the  eyes  of 
the  king  chanced  accidentally  to  fall  during  a  moment  of 
abstraction ;  and  upon  whom  they  rested,  until  her  own, 
which  had  been  fixed  eagerly  upon  his  countenance,  fell  be- 
neath his  gaze ;  while,  as  her  cheeks  crimsoned  with  min- 
gled shame  and  terror,  large  tears,  of  which  she  appeared 
to  be  utterly  unconscious,  dropped  fast  and  silently  upon 
her  bosom. 

*  Jean  Baptiste  Lulli  was  bom  at  Florence  in  1633,  and  his  talent  so 
won  upon  the  favor  of  Louis  XIV.  that  he  subsequently  ennobled  him, 
and  appointed  him  to  the  secretaryship  of  the  chancehy.  In  1672  the 
Abbe  Perrin  ceded  to  Lulli  his  privilege  of  compositor  to  the  opera, 
and  from  that  period  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1687,  he  en- 
riched the  French  stage  with  many  fine  works ;  among  which  may  be 
cited  his  Armida,  Isis,  Perseus,  Amadia,  Atys,  &c. 


552  LOUIS  XIV.  AND  THE  COURT  OF  FRANCE. 

The  king  was  surrounded  by  a  bevy  of  beauties,  all  anx- 
ious to  secure  his  notice,  and  to  repay  it  by  their  homage  ; 
yet  for  a  while  he  remained  impassive  to  their  attractions. 
He  was  tracing  upon  the  mobile  but  irregular  features  of 
the  almost  child  (who,  seated  in  an  obscure  corner,  had 
suffered  herself  to  be  so  thoroughly  subjugated  by  the  magic 
of  the  sweet  sounds  to  which  she  had  been  listening,  that 
she  felt  like  a  detected  culprit  on  exciting  observation),  the 
changeful  tide  of  feeling  to  which  that  flood  of  harmony 
had  given  birth. 

This  young  girl,  who  had  left  her  convent  only  on  the 
previous  day,  in  order  to  be  present  at  the  marriage  of  the 
brilliant  Countess  de  Soissons,  was  her  sister  Mary  de  Man- 
cini.  Poor  Mary !  Little  did  her  bounding  heart,  as  it 
leaped  with  joy  at  the  prospect  of  her  emancipation  from 
conventual  rule,  and  the  life  of  courtly  pleasure  upon  which 
she  was  about  to  enter,  forewarn  her  that  the  serpent  of 
despair  was  already  coiling  up  his  glittering  folds  upon  the 
roses  amid  which  she  was  about  to  tread. 


^3<j\£c\ 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Mary  de  Mancini — The  Prophecy- — The  Portrait — Hortensia  de  Mancini 
— Presentation  of  the  Sisters  to  the  King — Secret  Passion  of  Mary 
for  Louis  XIV. — Mademoiselle  de  la  Motte  d'Argencourt — Flight  of 
the  King — Return  of  Louis  to  Court — Insolence  of  Mademoiselle  d'Ar- 
gencourt— Remonstrances  of  the  Queen — Growing  Attachment  to 
Mary  de  Mancini ;  her  conversational  Talents — Negotiations  for  the 
Marriage  of  Louis  XIV. — Partial  Reconciliation  of  Monsieur  with  the 
Court — Rival  Princesses — Alliance  with  Cromwell — Arrival  of  tho 
Princess  of  Orange — Departure  of  the  Princess-Royal  and  the  Duke 
of  York — The  Hand  of  Mary  de  Mancini  demanded  by  Charles  II. — 
Refusal  of  the  Cardinal — Return  of  Christina;  her  Residence  at  Fon- 
tainebleau — The  Murder  of  Monaldeschi. 

We  have  already  shown  the  accomplishment  of  one  of 
the  prophecies  of  M.  de  Mancini,  and  his  daughter  Mary 
had.  been  the  object  of  another — less  sinister,  perhaps,  but 
infinitely  more  subtil  and  mysterious.  On  his  death-bed  ho 
had  entreated  Madame  de  Mancini  to  compel  her  to  take 
the  veil,  as  he  dreaded  her  independent  character  and  her 

VOL.   I. A  A 


554  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

bold  spirit,  which  unfitted  her  for  social  life  ;  adding  that, 
should  his  request  be  neglected,  she  would  be  the  cause  of 
much  evil.*  In  compliance  with  this  injunction,  the  anx- 
ious mother  placed  both  herself  and  her  sister  Hortensia, 
who  was  her  junior  by  a  year,  in  the  convent  of  St.  Mary, 
at  Chaillot,  with  the  intention,  when  the  younger  should 
have  attained  to  a  fitting  age  for  her  entrance  into  the 
world,  of  inducing  Mary  to  pronounce  her  vows ;  and 
upon  her  own  bed  of  death  she  repeated  alike  the  predic- 
tion and  the  design  to  the  cardinal,  who  had,  however,  only 
in  vague,  although  earnest  terms,  promised  to  protect  the 
orphan  girls. 

Mary  was  so  mere  a  child  when  the  sentence  was  pro- 
nounced against  her,  and  the  years  which  she  had  passed 
under  a  monastic  roof  had  so  habituated  her  to  self-control, 
that  she  exhibited  no  traces  of  the  willful  and  overbearing 
spirit  which  had  been  attributed  to  her  ;  and  whether  it 
were  this  fact  which  induced  the  cardinal  to  neglect  the 
dying  injunctions  of  his  sister,  or  that,  his  ambitious  hopes 
having  been  frustrated  by  the  failure  of  Olympia  upon  the 
affections  of  the  king,  he  resolved  to  make  another  attempt 
to  place  the  crown  of  France  upon  the  brow  of  one  of  his 
younger  nieces,  it  is  certain  that  he  availed  himself  of 
the  marriage  of  Madame  de  Soissons  to  withdraw  both 
Mary  and  Hortensia  from  their  convent. 

Mary  was,  at  this  period,  in  her  fifteenth  year,  and  from 
her  very  childhood  had  been  so  constantly  accustomed  to 
hear  the  personal  beauty  of  her  sisters  extolled,  that  she 
had  instinctively  imbibed  a  conviction  of  her  own  defici- 
ency in  attraction,  which  was  strengthened  by  the  constant 
contemplation  of  Hortensia,  who  already  gave  promise  of 
a  future  loveliness  which  was  destined  to  eclipse  that  of  all 
her  sisters.  Strong  in  this  belief,  Mary  consequently  be- 
came indifferent  to  mere  external  advantages,  and  did  not 
even  seek  to  avail  herself  of  those  which  she  actually  pos- 

*  Memoires  de  Madame  de  Motteville.     Pieces  Historiqnes,  &c. 


THE     CuUK'f     OF     FRANCE.  555 

sessed ;  and  yet  Madame  de  Motteville,  who,  from  her  great 
attachment  to  the  queen,  can  not  be  suspected  of  being 
the  friend  of  Mary  de  Mancini,  thus  describes  her  at  this 
period. 

"  Mary  Mancini  was  of  a  dark  and  somewhat  sallow 
complexion,  with  a  long,  thin  throat  and  arms  ;  a  large,  flat 
mouth;  fine  teeth;  a  tall  and  slender  figure  ;  and  harsh,  dull 
eyes,  which,  however,  gave  promise  of  future  softness  and 
animation."  A  cotemporaneous  chronicler*  gives  a  still 
more  favorable  impression  of  her  appearance.  "  She  was 
not  a  beauty,"  he  says  ;  "  but  her  movements,  her  manner, 
all  the  bearing  of  her  person  was  the  result  of  a  nature 
guided  by  grace.  Her  look  was  tender;  the  accent  of  her 
voice  enchanting;  her  genius  was  great,  substantial,  and 
extensive,  and  capable  of  the  grandest  conceptions.  She 
wrote  both  good  prose  and  pleasing  poetry  ;  and  Mary 
Mancini,  who  shone  in  a  courtly  letter,  was  equally  capa- 
ble of  producing  a  political  or  state  dispatch.  She  would 
not  have  been  unworthy  of  the  throne,  if,  among  us,  great 
merit  had  been  a  title  to  obtain  it." 

There  was  nothing  sufficiently  striking,  however,  in 
such  an  appearance,  to  catch  the  sated  fancy  of  the  king ; 
and  upon  Hortensia  alone,  who  was  still  a  mere  child,  did 
the  minister  for  an  instant  speculate.  But  for  a  time  even 
the  budding  beauty  of  Hortensia  was  overlooked  by  the 
young  sovereign,  although  from  the  moment  of  their  arrival 
at  court  the  sisters  became  the  privileged  inmates  of  the 
Louvre,  as  Victoria  and  Olympia  had  previously  been. 
Louis  had,  indeed,  inquired  the  name  of  the  young  girl  by 
the  singularity  of  whose  speaking  countenance  he  had  been 
for  a  moment  impressed ;  and  on  learning  that  she  was 
one  of  the  nieces  of  the  cardinal,  had  desired  that  both  the 
sisters  should  be  presented  to  him  ;  but  beyond  this  act 
of  courtesy,  simply  intended  to  conciliate  the  minister,  he 
had  evinced  no  interest  in  their  existence. 
*  Dreux  du  Radier. 


556  LUUIS     XIV.     AND 

Such  was,  unfortunately,  far  from  being  the  case  with 
Mary.  Even  in  the  rigid  circle  of  her  convent  she  had 
perpetually  heard  the  personal  grace  and  the  high  quali- 
ties of  the  young  monarch  discussed  with  enthusiasm  ; 
and  she  had  accustomed  herself  to  dwell  upon  this  idea 
with  an  intensity  of  admiration  of  which  so  ardent  and  im- 
passioned a  nature  as  her  own  could  alone  have  been  capa- 
ble. Upon  the  rare  occasions  on  which  the  sisters  had 
been  permitted  to  pay  their  respects  to  the  queen,  such  as 
her  birthday,  the  festival  of  St.  Louis,  and  the  commence- 
ment of  the  new  year,  while  Hortensia  was  wild  with  de- 
light on  seeing  herself  attired  in  a  more  becoming  cos- 
tume, and  anticipating  with  girlish  eagerness  the  pleasures 
of  the  day,  Mary  was  only  speculating  upon  the  probability 
of  obtaining  a  glance  at  the  king,  although,  amid  the  court 
ceremonies,  he  vouchsafed  no  notice  of  the  two  timid 
girls,  who,  having  performed  their  accustomed  homage, 
were  forthwith  conducted  once  more  to  their  convent. 
Still  she  had  looked  upon  him,  listened  to  his  voice,  watch- 
ed his  every  movement  in  the  dance,  and  felt  her  heart 
quail,  she  knew  not  wherefore,  when  she  saw  his  smile 
beam  upon  her  sister.  These  memories  sufficed  to  fill  her 
solitude,  and  to  exalt  her  imagination  ;  but  still,  no  hope 
that  the  idol,  at  whose  shrine  all  bent  down  in  almost 
more  than  worldly  worship,  would  ever  waste  one  thought 
upon  herself,  passed  across  her  mind.  She  was  contented 
to  listen  and  gaze  on  in  silence ;  and  when  she  finally 
quitted  Chaillot,  her  one  great  dream  of  joy  was  based 
upon  the  certainty  of  frequent  contact  with  the  faultless 
mortal  whom  she  had  invested  with  all  the  perfections  of 
an  excitable  and  devoted  fancy. 

It  is  possible  that  the  original  impression  produced  upon 
the  king  by  the  intellectual  expression  of  Mary  de  Mancini 
might,  however,  have  inspired  him  with  sufficient  curiosity 
to  induce  a  desire  of  cultivating  her  society  when  he 
found  her  included  among  the  ladies  of  the  queen's  house- 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  557 

hold,  had  not  his  attention  been  directed,  at  the  time,  to 
Mademoiselle  de  la  Motte  d'Argencourt,  who  had  just 
been  appointed  one  of  the  maids  of  honor.  A  member  of 
the  family  of  Conti,  her  high  birth  alone  insured  to  her  the 
protection  of  Anne  of  Austria ;  and  it  was  at  once  antici- 
pated that  her  appearance  and  acquirements  would  attract 
the  attention  of  the  young  sovereign.  Although  not  of 
striking  beauty,  Mademoiselle  d'Argencourt  was  graceful 
and  pleasing ;  and  her  deep-blue  eyes  and  fair  hair,  con- 
trasted with  her  dark  eyebrows  and  clear  brown  skin,  gave 
a  singular  vivacity  to  the  expression  of  her  countenance, 
which  was  full  of  charm.  Her  manner  was  courtly,  and 
her  figure  very  fine;  she  expressed  herself  admirably,  and 
danced  to  perfection ;  and  she  had  no  sooner  been  ad- 
mitted to  the  private  parties  of  the  queen  than  she  became 
the  object  of  the  king's  attentions,  and  that  so  undis- 
guisedly,  that  Anne  of  Austria  found  herself  once  more 
compelled  to  expostulate ;  but  Louis  was  invulnerable, 
and  on  the  first  opportunity  which  presented  itself,  de- 
clared to  the  young  lady  the  sentiments  with  which  she 
had  inspired  him,  and  ottered,  should  she  return  his  pas- 
sion, to  protect  her  from  the  displeasure  of  both  the  queen 
and  the  cardinal. 

Mademoiselle  d'Argencourt  had,  however,  already  be- 
stowed her  heart  elsewhere,  and  would  not  consent  to 
forego  her  love  for  the  gratification  of  a  worse  than  ques- 
tionable ambition.*  She  consequently  met  the  protesta- 
tions of  her  royal  lover  with  a  declaration  of  her  own 
scruples,  so  gracefully  and  femininely  expressed,  that 
Louis,  in  despair,  believing  for  the  moment  that  his 
happiness  actually  depended  upon  the  gratification  of  this 

*  The  mere  gossips  of  the  court  assigned  to  her,  as  a  lover,  M.  de 
Chamarante,  the  king's  first  gentleman,  who  was  commonly  called  "  the 
handsome  Chamarante ;"  while  the  more  uncharitahle  whispered  that 
she  had  attached  herself  to  the  Marquis  de  Richelieu,  the  husband  of 
Mademoiselle  do  Beanvais. 


558  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

new  caprice,  rushed,  in  his  first"  burst  of  disappointment, 
to  the  queen,  to  apprise  her  that  if  Mademoiselle  d'Ar- 
gencourt  persisted  in  her  coldness,  he  must  leave  Paris 
until  he  had  conquered  his  passion.  Anne  of  Austria  heard 
the  declaration  with  undisguised  pleasure,  and  compli- 
mented her  son  upon  the  propriety  and  becoming  dig- 
nity of  his  intention,  promising  to  consult  the  cardinal  as 
to  the  most  eligible  means  of  carrying  his  purpose  into 
effect. 

This  was  soon  accomplished,  for  no  proposition  could 
be  more  agreeable  to  Mazarin,  who  had  been  watching 
with  a  jealous  eye  the  interference  of  the  young  lady  of 
honor  with  the  prospects  of  his  own  nieces ;  and  he  forth- 
with advised  the  love-sick  monarch  to  reside,  for  a  time, 
at  Vincennes.  Louis  acted  upon  this  counsel  ;  passed  a 
week  in  the  strict  observances  of  a  devotion  which  always 
grew  upon  him  in  seasons  of  annoyance;  and  at  the  ter- 
mination of  ten  days,  believing  that  he  had  effectually 
overcome  his  passion,  returned  to  court.  During  his  ab- 
sence, however,  Madame  d'Argencourt,  who  had  specu- 
lated upon  the  attractions  of  her  daughter  to  advance  the 
fortunes  of  the  family,  satisfied  that,  since  her  marriage,  the 
hopes  which  had  been  based  upon  the  preference  of  the 
king  for  Olympia  de  Mancini  were  at  an  end,  and  ignorant 
that  the  cardinal  had  formed  a  fresh  design  on  the  heart 
of  the  susceptible  young  monarch,  alarmed  by  the  sudden 
retreat  of  Louis,  requested  an  interview  with  the  minister, 
to  whom  she  made  the  infamous  proposal,  that,  should  he 
desire  to  encourage  the  nascent  passion  of  the  sovereign, 
she  would  pledge  herself  that  her  daughter  should  never 
seek  to  attain  to  any  higher  rank  than  that  of  His  Majesty's 
mistress;  while  she  would,  on  her  part,  in  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  benefit  which  must  necessarily  accrue  to  her 
connections,  communicate  to  himself  every  thing  relating 
to  the  king  which  might  be  confided  to  her. 

The  minister  saw  at  once  the  advantage  to  be  gained 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  559 

by  such  a  circumstance,  and,  consequently,  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  promise  all  she  wished — listening,  moreover,  with 
courteous  attention  to  whatever  she,  at  that  moment, 
profited  by  the  opportunity  to  divulge ;  and  thus  armed 
in  one  quarter,  he  next  proceeded  to  examine  into  the 
truth  of  the  rumors  which  had  vaguely  reached  him  of  a 
previous  attachment  on  the  part  of  the  lady.  In  this 
attempt  he  succeeded  so  well,  that  he  not  only  discovered 
the  object  of  her  affection,  but  even  procured  a  letter,  au- 
thentic or  foiged,  which  was  stated  to  have  passed  between 
the  parties.  This  done,  he  hastened  to  explain  all  the  cir- 
cumstances to  Anne  of  Austria,  and  it  was  determined  that 
their  united  thanks  should  be  offered  to  Madame  d'Argen- 
court  for  the  sacrifice  which  she  had  been  willing  to  make 
for  the  happiness  of  His  Majesty,  coupled  with  the  assur- 
ance that  it  was  no  longer  necessary,  as  the  king  had 
already  overcome  his  passing  inclination. 

On  his  return,  both  the  queen  and  the  cardinal  had 
every  reason  to  hope  that  such  was  in  fact  the  case,  for 
Louis  scrupulously  avoided  every  opportunity  of  meeting 
Mademoiselle  d'Argencourt;  and  whenever  they  were 
accidentally  brought  into  contact,  simply  saluted  her  with 
a  cold  courtesy,  which  betrayed  no  trace  of  latent  passion. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  previously  coy  beauty  had, 
meanwhile,  been  tutored  by  her  unworthy  mother;  for,  two 
days  after  the  reappearance  of  the  king,  a  ball  took  place 
at  court,  of  which  he  was  doing  the  honors,  when  Made- 
moiselle d'Argencourt  entered  the  room  magnificently  at- 
tired ;  and  she  no  sooner  made  her  courtesy  to  the  queen 
than  she  walked  straight  up  to  the  young  monarch,  before 
the  eyes  of  the  whole  circle,  and  requested  him  to  do  her 
the  favor  of  dancing  with  her.  At  this  unheard-of  request 
Louis  turned  pale,  and  suffered  his  hand  to  fall  into  that 
of  the  fair  petitioner  with  an  embarrassment  which  con- 
tinued throughout  the  bransle.  Meanwhile  the  exultation 
of  the  triumphant  beauty  was  conspicuously  exhibited,  and 


500  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

she  drew  general  attention  upon  the  emotion  of  the  young 
sovereign. 

A  glance  exchanged  between  the  queen  and  Mazarin 
served  to  convince  both  that  the  moment  was  important, 
and  Anne  of  Austria  seized  the  first  opportunity  to  repre- 
sent to  her  son  in  how  short  a  time  he  had  subjected  him- 
self to  a  liberty,  from  which,  by  a  more  guarded  line  of 
conduct,  he  would  have  been  preserved;  while  the  car- 
dinal, having  suffered  his  pride  to  feel  the  humiliation  to 
which  it  had  been  exposed,  followed  up  the  expostulation 
of  the  Queen-Mother  by  placing  in  his  hands  the  inter- 
cepted letter,  and  informing  him  of  the  indiscretion  which 
had  been  displayed  by  Mademoiselle  dArgencourt,  for 
which  knowledge  he  was  indebted  to  the  communications 
of  her  mother  ;  and  by  these  means  succeeded  in  arousing 
the  indignation  of  the  king.  Moreover,  at  this  precise 
moment,  Madame  de  Beauvais  made  a  formal  complaint 
of  the  unhappiness  which  she  had  caused  to  her  daughter, 
the  Duchess  de  Richelieu,  and  she  had  no  sooner  done  so 
than  Mademoiselle  dArgencourt  received  an  intimation 
that  she  was  forthwith  to  retire  to  the  convent  of  St.  Mary, 
at  Chaill ot,  an  arrangement  to  which  she  offered  no  oppo- 
sition ;  and  although  she  never  took  the  vows,  and  that 
after  a  brief  period  she  was  left  at  perfect  liberty  to  return 
to  the  woi-ld,  she  remained  in  that  community  until  her 
death.* 

Mazarin  again  triumphed  ;  the  pride  of  Louis  XIV.  had 
obliterated  his  passion  ;  and  when  the  perpetual  pleasures 
by  which  he  was  surrounded  began  to  pall,  he  once  more 
looked  around  him  for  a  more  absorbing  object  of  interest; 
and,  disregarding  the  beauty  of  her  younger  sister,  attached 
himself  to  Mary  de  Mancini.  Convinced,  at  length,  that 
the  king  felt  pleasure  in  her  society,  tha  timid  reserve 
of  this  extraordinary  woman  disappeared  ;  and  although 
her  devotion  led  her  to  treat  him  upon  all  occasions  with  a 
Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  561 

deference  and  respect  which  satisfied  his  pride  and  gratified 
his  self-love,  she,  nevertheless,  conversed  with  him  with  a 
frankness  to  which  he  was  totally  unaccustomed.  This  inti- 
macy, encouraged  by  Mazarin,  and  witnessed  without  mis- 
giving by  the  queen,  soon  attracted  attention,  and  a  few  of 
the  boldest  among  the  courtiers  even  ventured  allusions  upon 
the  subject  to  Louis  himself,  who  at  first  affected  to  laugh, 
although  these  comments  induced  him  to  watch  Mary  more 
closely ;  and  he  soon  became  convinced  that,  although  his 
court  could  boast  of  women  more  beautiful  in  person,  she 
was  unrivaled  alike  for  intellect  and  wit. 

No  one  sustained  an  argument  or  related  an  anecdote 
with  the  piquancy  of  Mary  de  Mancini.  In  her  hands 
dullness  grew  into  point,  and  reason  became  palatable. 
There  was  no  weariness  within  the  circle  of  her  influence ; 
and  even  wisdom  crowned  itself  with  roses  when  she  in- 
troduced it  to  the  company  of  the  loves  and  graces.  But 
the  great  charm  of  Mary  existed,  after  all,  in  the  heart- 
whole  affection  which  she  had  given  to  the  young  king — an 
affection  which  led  her  to  weep  over  the  defects  of  his 
education,  and  to  exert  all  her  efforts  to  remove  them. 
From  her  lips  he  heard  truths  boldly  spoken,  which  none 
had  ever  before  ventured  even  to  whisper ;  she  conversed 
with  him  upon  subjects  of  which,  although  they  involved 
his  dearest  interests,  he  was  almost  ignorant ;  she  awak- 
ened in  his  breast  the  noblest  impulses  and  the  most 
worthy  ambition  ;  and  while  she  loved  him  as  he  was,  she 
strove  to  make  him  comprehend  all  that  he  ought  to  be. 

Accustomed  to  unlimited  admiration  and  undeviating 
worship,  Louis  was  for  a  time  amazed  and  bewildered  by 
the  honest  frankness  with  which  this  mere  girl  ventured  to 
criticise  his  actions,  and  to  explain  to  him  the  motives  and 
impulses  by  which  he  had  been  governed  ;  but  ere  long 
he  became  thralled  by  the  strength  of  an  intellect  with 
which  he  found  his  own  unable  to  compete ;  and  while  he 
shared  his  amusements  and  pleasures  with  the  obsequious 

A  A* 


562  L  O  U  I  9     XIV.    AND 

crowd  around  him,  he  turned  to  Mary  upon  every  occasion 
of  difficulty  for  strength  and  help. 

Nevertheless,  the  cardinal  soon  found  it  necessary  to 
occupy  himself  with  an  event  the  most  likely  of  all  others 
to  render  his  niece  wretched,  through  the  very  medium 
of  the  attachment  which  he  had  himself  encouraged — the 
marriage  of  the  king.  It  might  be  that,  aware  of  the  hold 
which  the  intellect  of  Mary  had  already  taken  upon  the 
mind  of  Louis,  he  believed  that  obstacles  would  only 
strengthen  her  power ;  or,  what  is  still  more  feasible,  that 
it  was  necessary  to  divert  the  attention  of  the  queen  from 
the  engrossing  effects  of  this  new  attachment ;  while  it  is, 
at  all  events,  certain  that  he  selected  this  precise  period 
to  bring  forward  his  most  forcible  arguments  on  the  expe- 
diency of  some  eligible  matrimonial  alliance  being  decided 
upon  for  the  young  sovereign. 

European  pi-incesses  were  not  wanting  who  might  with 
reason  pretend  to  such  a  marriage.  In  the  first  place, 
there  was  Mademoiselle,  whose  enormous  wealth,  as 
well  as  her  high  birth,  rendered  her  a  fitting  candidate 
for  the  throne  to  which  it  was  well  known  that  she  had 
long  aspired.  It  was  with  no  other  view  that  she  had 
made  herself  conspicuous  during  the  civil  war  ;  and  it  had 
even  been  reported  to  Anne  of  Austria,  that  when  it  was 
required  of  her  to  permit  the  royalists  to  enter  Paris, 
she  had  replied,  that  if  they  would  pledge  themselves 
to  marry  her  to  the  king,  she  would  at  once  deliver  up 
the  city :  upon  which  the  queen  had  retorted,  with  a 
bitter  smile  and  a  somewhat  unregal  petulancy,  that  »in 
that  case  they  would  pass  beside  it  without  entering,  for 
that  "  the  king  was  not  for  her  nose,  although  it  was  a 
long  one."*  Undignified  as  the  rejoinder  had  been,  it  was, 
nevertheless,  decisive;  and  from  that  time  Mademoiselle 
was  never  again  thought  of  as  a  wife  for  the  king. 

Meanwhile,  a  species  of  reconciliation  had  been  effected 
*   Memoires  de  Laporte. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  563 

between  the  court  and  the  Duke  d'Orleans,  through  the 
agency  of  the  Duchess  de  Guise  and  M.  de  Montresor; 
in  consideration  of  which  His  Royal  Highness,  with  his 
characteristic  facility  on  such  occasions,  sacrificed  the 
interests  of  the  Duke  de  Beaufort,  the  Duchess  de  Mont- 
bazon,  and,  in  short,  all  who  had  served  him  during  the 
war ;  while  even  after  this  concession  he  found  himself  as 
powerless  as  ever.  When  he  went  to  La  Fere,  where 
the  court  was  sojourning,  the  cardinal  affected  to  be 
confined  with  gout,  because  he  would  not  go  to  meet 
him ;  and  after  having  had  an  interview  with  the  king 
and  queen,  he  accordingly  proceeded  to  the  chamber  of 
the  minister ;  thus  reversing  their  relative  positions,  and 
affording  a  great  and  public  triumph  to  Mazarin,  of  which 
the  duke  himself  was  so  conscious,  that,  after  remaining 
only  two  or  three  days  at  court,  he  returned  in  no  very 
placid  mood  to  Blois. 

The  partial  reconciliation  of  Gaston  with  the  court 
had  induced  many  to  believe  that  an  alliance  would,  in 
all  probability,  be  formed  between  the  young  sovereign 
and  his  elder  daughter  by  the  second  marriage ;  but  this 
arrangement  by  no  means  accorded  with  the  views  of  the 
cardinal,  who  had  no  reason  to  favor  the  projects  of  the 
king's  uncle,  by  whom  he  had  been  so  frequently  thwarted 
in  his  own  plans  ;  and  consequently  this  match  was  at  once 
negatived.  The  princesses  of  England  and  Portugal  were 
alike  declared  to  be  ineligible;  for  the  former  was  poor 
and  disinherited,  Ci-omwell  having  for  the  moment  usurped, 
if  not  the  throne,  at  least  the  sovereign  power ;  while, 
although  the  Count  de  Comminges,  who  was  ambassador 
at  Lisbon,  had  not  only  written  to  inform  Mazarin  that  the 
Queen  of  Portugal  earnestly  desired  to  see  her  daughter 
the  wife  of  the  French  king,  but  had  even  forwarded  a 
miniature  likeness  of  the  princess ;  it  was  whispered  that 
the  portrait  was  extremely  flattered,  and  that  if  the  sove- 
reign placed  any  reliance  upon  the  copy,  he  would  find 


564  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

himself  sorely  disappointed  when  he  encountered  the 
original;  and  thus  the  cardinal,  who  was  aware  that  this 
was  an  important  consideration  with  Louis,  replied  by 
alledcrinor  the  impossibility  of  the  alliance.  The  disap- 
pointment was  great,  both  to  the  Lisbonese  court  and 
to  Comminges  himself,  to  whom  the  Queen-Mother  had 
offered  an  immense  sum  of  money  in  the  event  of  his 
succeeding  in  the  negotiation. 

At  length  the  minister  turned  his  eyes  upon  Marguerite 
of  Savoy,  the  niece  of  the  Queen  of  England,  although 
without  any  of  the  energy  that  such  an  event  would  have 
appeared  to  demand  ;  a  fact  which  caused  suspicions  that 
he  had  merely  availed  himself  of  her  name  to  compel  the 
King  of  Spain  to  decide  upon  the  cession  of  his  own 
daughter,  the  Infanta  Maria  Theresa,  an  alliance  for 
which  Anne  of  Austria  had  long  been  anxious  as  well 
as  her  minister — Mazarin  from  its  political  importance, 
and  the  queen  from  attachment  to  her  own  family. 
Hitherto,  however,  the  marriage  had  been  impossible, 
the  Infanta  Maria  Theresa  being  an  only  child,  and  con- 
sequently heir  to  the  throne — a  fact  which  effectually 
prevented  her  from  becoming  the  wife  of  a  reigning 
sovereign ;  but,  as  though  the  star  of  Louis  XIV.  were 
to  be  ever  in  the  ascendant,  the  Queen  of  Spain  had, 
at  this  particular  period,  given  birth  to  a  son,  which  re- 
leased the  princess  from  her  exclusive  position  as  heiress- 
presumptive ;  and  from  the  day  upon  which  the  intelli- 
gence of  this  event  reached  the  court  of  France,  Mazarin 
never  lost  sight  of  Spain,  or,  rather,  of  the  states  of 
Flanders  and  Brabant,  which  he  had  long  desired  to 
merge  into  the  French  kingdom. 

While  these  negotiations  were  pending,  Louis  formed 
an  alliance  with  Cromwell,  who  forwarded  an  ambassador 
to  the  court  of  France  ;  upon  which  the  ministers  inti- 
mated to  Charles  II.,  who  still  lingered  at  St.  Germain  in 
the  hope  of  succeeding  in  his  pursuit  of  Mademoiselle, 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  565 

that  they  desired  his  departure ;  nor  did  he  delay  it, 
having  naturally  no  inclination  to  subject  himself  to  daily 
contact  with  the  envoy  of  the  Commonwealth.  As  if  to 
compensate,  however,  to  the  Queen  of  England  for  this 
new  mortification,  the  princess-royal  her  daughter,  widow 
of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  arrived  at  Paris  on  a  visit  to  her 
exiled  relatives,  surrounded  by  magnificence  and  blazing 
with  jewels.  Rumor  assigned  her  appearance  at  that 
particular  juncture  to  a  desire  of  captivating  Louis;  but 
if  such  indeed  were  her  errand,  it  signally  failed,  the  king 
not  having  exchanged  a  word  with  her  during  her  stay. 
It  was,  however,  also  reported  that  Anne  of  Austria  was 
extremely  pleased  by  her  advent ;  and  that  she  had  reason 
to  believe  that  in  the  event  of  the  princess  attracting  the 
attention  of  her  son,  she  would  readily  abjure  her  religion 
in  order  to  become  his  wife.  The  marked  discourtesy 
of  Louis  of  course  rendered  every  such  speculation  need- 
less ;  and  it  was  the  more  conspicuous,  inasmuch  as  the 
princess-royal  ought  by  her  birth  to  have  commanded  the 
respect  and  deference  of  every  one  by  whom  she  was 
approached ;  while  she  had  scarcely  derogated  in  her 
marriage,  for  although  the  principality  of  Nassau  was  not 
ancient,  it  was,  nevertheless,  a  very  illustrious  name.  By 
Anne  of  Austria  she  was  received  with  great  distinction  ; 
and  as  the  princess,  from  her  recent  widowhood,  did  not 
wish  to  appear  in  public,  the  queen  admitted  her  to  her 
intimacy,  and  gave  assemblies  for  her  amusement  in  her 
own  private  apartments.* 

The  departure  of  the  princess-royal  was  closely  fol- 
lowed by  that  of  the  young  Duke  of  York,  who  left 
France  to  join  his  royal  brother  in  Holland,  by  command 
of  Mazarin  ;  compelled  to  this  step  by  the  rigid  will  of 
of  Cromwell,  who,  in  signing  his  treaty  with  France, 
had  not  yielded  one  inch  of  ground  to  the  pretension 
of  royalty,  but  had  met  Louis  on  equal  terms,  insisting 
*  Memoirea  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


566  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

upon  his  bestowing  upon  him  in  his  letters  the  title  of 
hrother,  and  permitting  his  own  secretary  to  sign  the 
treaty  before  the  French  plenipotentiary. 

While  this  alliance  was  pending,  Charles  II.  wrote 
to  the  cardinal  to  ask  the  hand  of  his  niece,  Mary  de 
Mancini ;  but  his  shattered  fortunes,  which  had  driven 
him  to  solicit  the  marriage,  formed  a  sufficient  cause 
for  refusal  on  the  part  of  the  minister,  who,  it  was 
whispered,  would  willingly  have  bestowed  the  same  hand 
upon  the  son  of  the  usurper  Cromwell  which  he  had  de- 
clined to  yield  to  the  legitimate  King  of  England.  Thus 
much,  at  least,  is  certain,  that  when  he  saw  the  path  to 
the  throne  once  more  opening  to  the  long-persecuted 
Stuart,  he  endeavored  to  revive  the  negotiation,  but  with- 
out effect. 

Meanwhile,  amid  all  the  gayety  and  profusion  of  the 
court,  the  unfortunate  Henrietta,  the  illustrious  daughter 
of  Henry  IV.,  finding  that  the  scanty  means  which  were 
provided  for  her  subsistence  by  the  French  government 
were  both  grudgingly  and  uncertainly  bestowed,  and  that 
the  position  of  Cromwell  was  attaining  added  strength 
every  hour,  from  his  recognition  by  foreign  powers, 
found  herself  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  entreating 
the  cardinal  to  obtain  from  the  protector  the  payment 
of  her  dower.  This  was  the  most  bitter  pang  which 
she  had  yet  encountered,  for  it  was  craving  food  from 
the  very  hand  which  had  led  her  husband  to  the  scaf- 
fold ;  but  she  had  no  alternative  ;  and  as  she  looked  at 
her  helpless  daughter,  destitute  not  only  of  the  luxuries 
common  to  her  rank,  but  of  the  very  comforts  requisite  to 
her  age  and  sex,  she  bowed  her  stricken  spirit  to  its  task. 

Mazarin  repaid  her  ill  for  this  confidence  in  his  sym- 
pathy, however ;  for  having  personal  views  upon  Crom- 
well, he  did  not  care  to  exhaust  his  influence  on  subjects 
which  were  irrelevant  to  his  own  interests  ;  and  Henrietta, 
in  whose  behalf  he  merely  urged  a  faint  and  cold  reqnesr, 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  567 

found  her  claim  disallowed,  and  herself  condemned  to 
remain,  not  only  in  her  accustomed  state  of  privation, 
but  also  crushed  beneath  the  weight  of  another  and  a 
keener  mortification  than  any  to  which  she  had  previously 
been  subjected  ;  and  separated,  moreover,  from  both  her 
sons,  who  had  joined  the  combined  forces  of  the  Prince 
de  Conde  and  Don  John  of  Austria,  where  they  were 
bearing  arms  against  the  country  by  which  they  had  been 
so  heartlessly  abandoned.* 

The  next  royal  arrival  at  the  court  of  France  was  once 
more  that  of  Christina,  who,  on  this  second  occasion, 
exhibited  so  much  less  ceremony  than  she  had  formerly 
displayed,  that  she  reached  Fontainebleau  before  the 
court  was  even  apprised  of  her  return;  which  they  no 
sooner  learned  than  she  received  an  intimation  not  to 
proceed  beyond  that  palace — a  command  which  was, 
nevertheless,  so  courteously  worded  that  she  found  her- 
self in  one  moment  its  sovereign  mistress.  She  had  not, 
however,  long  been  its  inmate  ere  the  frightful  tragedy 
of  Monaldeschi  took  place  ;  and  the  sentiment  of  disgust 
and  horror  which  it  excited  was  so  universal,  that  in  the 
first  burst  of  his  indignation  the  king  desired  Cardinal 
Mazarin  to  signify  to  her  his  extreme  displeasure.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  letter  of  the  minister  highly 
exasperated  the  Swedish  queen,  who  returned  the  follow- 
ing characteristic  reply  : — 

"  Mr.  Mazarin, — Those  who  acquainted  you  with  the 
details  regarding  Monaldeschi,  my  equery,  were  very 
ill  informed  ;  and  I  consider  it  very  extraordinary  that 
you  should  have  committed  so  many  persons  in  order  to 
ascertain  the  truth  of  the  case.  Your  proceeding  ought 
not,  however,  to  astonish  me,  silly  as  it  is;  but  I  should 
never  have  believed  that  either  you  or  your  haughty 
young  master  would  have  dared  to  exhibit  the  least 
*  Le  Siocle  rle  Louis  XIV.     FrcmrheviUe. 


508     LOUIS     XIV.     AND     THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE. 

resentment  toward  me.  Learn,  all  of  you,  valets  and 
masters,  little  and  great,  that  it  was  my  pleasure  to  act 
as  I  did ;  that  I  need  not,  and  that  I  will  not,  account 
for  my  actions  to  any  one  in  the  world,  and  particularly 
to  bullies  of  your  description.  You  play  an  extraordinary 
part  for  a  personage  of  your  rank  ;  but  whatever  reasons 
determined  you  to  write  to  me,  I  consider  them  too  in- 
significant to  trouble  myself  about  it  for  an  instant ;  I 
wish  you  to  know,  and  to  say  to  all  who  will  hear  it,  that 
Christina  cares  very  little  about  your  court,  and  still  less 
about  yourself;  and  that,  in  order  to  revenge  my  wrongs, 
I  do  not  require  to  have  recourse  to  your  formidable 
power.  My  honor  required  what  I  have  done  ;  my  will  is 
a  law  which  you  ought  to  respect ;  and  many  people,  for 
whom  I  have  not  more  esteem  than  for  yourself,  ought  to 
learn  what  they  owe  to  their  equals  before  they  make 
more  noise  than  is  becoming. 

"  Learn,  finally,  Mr.  Cardinal,  that  Christina  is  a  queen 
wherever  she  may  be  ;  and  that  in  whatever  place  it  is 
her  pleasure  to  reside,  the  men,  let  them  be  as  great  im- 
postors as  they  may,  will  still  be  superior  to  you  and  your 
confidants. 

"  The  Prince  de  Conde  was  quite  right  to  exclaim, 
when  you  inhumanly  held  him  a  prisoner  at  Vincennes, 
'  The  old  fox  will  never  cease  to  insult  those  who  do  the 
state  good  service,  unless  the  parliament  either  dismiss,  or 
severely  punish  this  illustrious  St.  Aquinus  de  Piscina.' 

"  Believe  me,  therefore,  Jules ;  conduct  yourself  in  a 
manner  to  deserve  my  favor,  which  you  can  not  study  too 
much  to  secure.  God  preserve  you  from  ever  risking  the 
least  indiscreet  remark  upon  my  person ;  for  although  at 
the  end  of  the  earth,  I  shall  be  informed  of  your  plots ;  I 
have  friends  and  courtiers  in  my  service,  who  are  as 
clever  and  as  far-sighted  as  yours,  although  they  are 
worse  paid. 

"  Curistina." 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

Reconciliation  of  Monsieur  and  Mademoiselle ;  her  return  to  Court — 
Interview  with  Anne  of  Austria — Presentation  to  the  King — Project 
of  Marriage  between  Mademoiselle  and  the  Duke  d'Anjou — Christina 
at  Court — Increasing  Passion  of  Louis  XIV.  for  Mary  de  Mancini — 
Uneasiness  of  the  Queen — Ovei-tures  of  the  Duchess  of  Savoy — M.  de 
Verue — The  Lottery  of  the  Cardinal — Insolence  of  Mazarin  toward 
Anne  of  Austria — Influence  of  Maiy  de  Mancini  over  the  Mind  of 
the  King — Their  literary  Studies — Historical  Misstatements  relative 
to  Louis  XIV. — Mary  de  Mancini  and  Moliere — Opposition  of  the 
Queen — Moliere  at  Paris. 

At  this  period  Mademoiselle,  who  had  succeeded  in 
effecting  a  reconciliation  with  her  father,  after  a  formidable 
misunderstanding  upon  the  subject  of  her  property,  of 
which,  in  delivering  up  his  trust,  he  had  made  a  violent 
effort  to  possess  himself  of  a  considerable  portion,  induced 
His  Royal  Highness  to  solicit  her  return  to  court,  an  ap- 
plication which  met  with  immediate  success;  and  her  joy 
was  great  to  hear  from  her  friend  the  Count  de  Bethune, 
who  had  been  the  bearer  of  the  letter,  that  both  Their 


570  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

Majesties  and  the  cardinal  had  expressed  their  satisfaction 
at  the  prospect  of  her  reappearance,  coupled  with  the  in- 
junction for  her  to  proceed  to  St.  Cloud,  where  Monsieur 
would  meet  her,  and  there  await  the  further  directions  of 
the  minister,  as  the  king  was  about  to  join  the  army,  and 
it  was  necessary  that  she  should  delay  her  progress  to  La 
Fere*  (where  the  court  was  then  sojourning)  until  His 
Majesty's  return,  in  order  that  one  interview  might  suffice 
for  the  ceremony.  Meanwhile,  it  greatly  consoled  the  prin- 
cess for  this  delay,  to  learn  that  every  one  was  impatient 
to  welcome  her  back  to  the  royal  circle  ;  and  that  the 
Duke  d'Anjou  had  declared  he  would  resign  his  apart- 
ments to  his  cousin,  until  Mazarin  had  claimed  that  privi- 
lege, asserting  that  he  was  the  proper  person  to  do  the 
honors  of  La  Fere,  being  the  governor  of  the  castle. 

At  St.  Cloud,  Mademoiselle  found  a  number  of  the 
court  nobles  awaiting  her,  and  among  the  rest  Madame 
de  Nemours,  Madame  d'Entragues,  and  all  the  particular 
friends  of  Mazarin,  including  the  Princess  de  Carignan 
and  the  Countess  de  Soissons.  Enchanted  by  this  une- 
quivocal demonstration  of  his  sincerity,  she  lost  no  time  in 
writing,  not  only  to  Their  Majesties,  to  acknowledge  in 
grateful  terms  the  welcome  which  she  had  already  re- 
ceived, but  also  to  the  cardinal  himself;  who,  in  acquaint- 
ing M.  de  Bethune  with  the  receipt  of  Mademoiselle's 
dispatches,  stated  that  he  apprehended  Her  Royal  High- 
ness was  not  aware  that  the  King  of  Sweden  addressed 
him  as  "  Your  Eminence,"  as  she  had  omitted  to  give  him 
a  title  which  had  been  freely  conceded  by  crowned  heads, 
but  that  he  was  desirous  to  ascertain  if  the  omission  had 
been  made  intentionally. 

*  La  Fere  is  the  principal  town  of  the  district  of  the  Aisne,  and  is 
situated  at  six  leagues  from  Laon.  In  the  10th  century  it  was  a  forti- 
fied place;  and  in  1592  some  famous  conferences  were  held  there,  at 
which  the  Spaniards  proposed  to  the  League  to  place  a  Spanish  prin 
cess  upon  the  throne  of  France. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  571 

This  was  a  frightful  dilemma  for  the  punctilious  prin- 
cess, who  dilates  solemnly  upon  her  embarrassment,  as 
she  had  never  yet  accorded  such  an  honor  to  any  cardinal, 
and  feared  that  by  so  doing  in  this  case  Monsieur  might 
believe  that  she  was  humbled  by  her  long  exile.  Her 
good  angel  M.  de  Bethune,  however,  came  as  usual  to  her 
assistance,  by  informing  her  that  His  Royal  Highness  him- 
self conceded  this  title  to  the  nephews  of  popes,  and  thus 
distinguished  them  from  all  others — an  assurance  which 
sufficed  to  satisfy  the  pride  of  Mademoiselle,  who  de- 
clared that  as  Mazarin  was  more  useful,  and  of  more  con- 
sequence to  her  than  the  nephew  of  any  pope,  she  should 
not  hesitate  to  confer  it  in  her  turn  upon  him  ;  and  in  order 
to  impress  upon  his  mind  that  she  had  simply  failed  through 
ignorance,  she  hastened  to  address  a  second  letter  to  him 
on  the  following  day. 

A  short  time  subsequently,  intelligence  arrived  at  St. 
Cloud  that  the  court  had  left  La  Fere  for  Sedan,*  in  order 
to  be  nearer  to  Montmedy,t  which  was  besieged  by  the 
Marshal  de  la  Ferte.t  and  she  was  lamenting  the  fact  as 
involving  the  delay  of  her  return  to  court,  when  she  re- 

*  A  very  ancient  fortified  town  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Meuse,  pos- 
sessing on  the  southeast  a  fortress,  in  which  Turenne  was  born.  It  was 
formerly  the  capital  of  a  small  sovereign  principality,  belonging  to  the 
family  of  La  Tour  d'Auvergne,  but  was  ceded  to  France  by  the  Duke 
de  Bouillon  in  1642. 

t  Montmedy  is  one  of  the  two  fortified  towns  of  the  department  of 
the  Meuse,  and  stands  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Chiers.  Its  fortifica- 
tions were  constructed  by  Vauban.  It  was  given  up  to  France  by  the 
treaty  of  the  Pyrenees  in  1G57. 

%  Henry  de  Senectere,  Marshal  de  la  Ferte,  was  the  descendant 
of  a  very  ancient  Auvergnese  family,  and  distinguished  himself  greatly 
at  the  siege  of  La  Rochelle  (1626),  at  the  taking  of  Moyenvic  and 
Treves,  and  at  the  battle  of  Avesnes.  Appointed  adjutant-general,  he 
was  conspicuous  for  his  bravery  at  Rocroy  and  Sens,  and  defeated  the 
Duke  of  Lorraine  in  1650.  When  a  marshal,  in  1651,  he  saved  Nancy, 
and  took  Chaste,  Mirecourt,  Vandrevrange,  Montmedy,  and  Gravelines 
(1651-58).     He  died  in  1681,  at  the  age  of  eighty-two  years. 


572  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

ceived  a  communication  from  the  cardinal,  informing  her 
that  she  was  at  liberty  to  proceed  to  Sedan  whenever  she 
pleased ;  only  requesting  that  she  would  apprise  him  upon 
what  day  she  would  leave  Paris  and  arrive  at  Rheims,  in 
order  that  he  might  send  her  an  escort. 

Thus,  overwhelmed  with  honors,  she  set  forth  ;  and 
when  she  reached  the  faubourg  of  Sedan,  M.  de  Darnville 
was  dispatched  to  a  meadow  where  the  queen  was  walk- 
ing, in  order  to  ascertain  when  Mademoiselle  might  pay 
her  respects,  and  returned  with  the  answer  that  Her  Maj- 
esty was  awaiting  her.  She  consequently  hastened  for- 
ward, surrounded  by  a  guard  of  gendarmes  and  light-horse, 
amid  a  flourish  of  trumpets,  and  alighted  from  her  carriage 
when  she  was  within  twenty  paces  of  the  queen,  who  met 
her  with  kindness,  assuring  her  that  she  had  always  re- 
tained an  affection  for  her  person,  even  when  she  had  felt 
angered  by  her  actions,  and  that  she  freely  forgave  the  affair 
of  Orleans,  although,  had  the  princess  been  in  her  power 
at  the  battle  of  the  Porte  St.  Antoine,  she  could  have 
strangled  her;  to  which  declaration  Mademoiselle,  with 
more  courtliness  than  sincerity,  replied  that  she  deserved 
such  a  punishment  since  she  had  incurred  the  displeasure 
of  Her  Majesty ;  but  that  it  had  been  her  misfortune  to 
find  herself  among  persons  who  had  compelled  her  to  act 
as  she  had  done.  Anne  of  Austria  then  said  that  she  had 
resolved  to  explain  her  feelings  at  once,  and  to  declare 
what  was  in  her  heart;  but  that  she  should  now  dismiss 
the  past  from  her  memory,  and  never  resume  the  subject, 
begging  the  princess  to  believe  that  thenceforward  she 
should  love  her  more  than  she  had  ever  done.  After  this 
assurance,  she  presented  to  her  the  niece  of  the  cardinal, 
Mary  de  Mancini,  who  was  graciously  received,  and  to 
whom  Mademoiselle  remarked  that  she  was  convinced 
when  Mademoiselle  de  Mancini  knew  her  she  would  love 
her — a  fact  of  which,  however,  the  king's  new  favorite  was 
by  no  means  convinced  ;  for,  well  aware  that  the  haughty 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  573 

princess  had  aspired  to  the  hand  of  the  king,  she  could 
not,  without  considerable  uneasiness,  witness  her  recall  to 
court,  although  she  was  too  politic  to  suffer  such  a  feeling 
to  appear. 

After  the  reduction  of  Montmedy,  the  king  arrived  at 
Sedan ;  and,  having  traveled  at  speed,  was  so  covered 
with  mud  and  dirt,  that  the  queen,  who  was  watching  his 
approach  from  a  window,  was  anxious  that  Mademoiselle 
should  not  see  him  before  he  had  changed  his  dress ;  the 
princess,  however,  who  was  desirous  to  terminate  as  soon 
as  possible  the  ceremonial  of  her  forgiveness,  declared  with 
great  earnestness  that  she  could  not  suffer  such  a  consid- 
eration to  delay  their  meeting.  She  accordingly  remained 
in  the  apartment,  which  the  king  almost  immediately  en- 
tered ;  and  despite  the  disorder  of  his  attire,  his  handsome 
person  produced  upon  her  the  most  favorable  impression. 
As  Louis  approached,  the  queen  took  the  hand  of  the 
princess,  and  leading  her  toward  him,  said,  with  a  smile, 
"  Allow  me,  sir,  to  present  to  you  a  young  lady  who  much 
regrets  her  ill  conduct,  and  who  will  behave  better  in  fu- 
ture." The  king  replied  with  a  good-humored  laugh  ;  the 
royal  cousins  exchanged  an  embrace ;  and  then,  as  com- 
pletely reconciled,  to  all  appearance,  as  though  one  had 
never  turned  the  cannon  of  the  Bastille  against  the  other, 
Louis  gave  a  description  of  the  siege,  until  the  dinner-hour 
terminated  the  conversation. 

The  most  agreeable  feature  of  her  return  was,  however, 
to  Mademoiselle,  the  impression  produced  upon  her  mind 
by  the  marked  attentions  of  the  Duke  d'Anjou,  that  the 
court  contemplated  her  marriage  with  her  young  cousin  ; 
to  which  she  declares  that  she  was  by  no  means  averse, 
considering  that  a  prince  of  the  blood-royal,  of  handsome 
person,  was  a  match  worthy  of  her.* 

Meanwhile,  the  extraordinary  letter  of  Christina  had 
produced  its  effect ;  for,  not  feeling  anxious  to  tilt  against 
*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Moutpeneier. 


574  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

so  uncompromising  an  antagonist,  Mazarin  had  advised 
that  she  should  be  permitted  to  remain  unmolested  at 
Fontainebleau,  and  that  no  further  comment  should  be 
made  upon  the  tragedy  at  which  she  had  presided  ;  this 
she  accordingly  did  for  a  couple  of  months  longer;  after 
which,  wearying  of  the  monotony  of  her  solitary  residence, 
she  so  unequivocally  declared  her  intention  to  visit  the 
court,  and  to  share  in  its  gayeties,  that  the  king  found 
himself  compelled,  in  order  to  render  such  an  arrange- 
ment as  little  embarrassing  as  possible  to  all  parties,  to 
send  her  an  invitation  to  attend  a  ballet  which  he  was 
about  to  give  in  honor  of  Mary  de  Mancini,  and  in  which 
he  was  himself  to  dance. 

So  alarmed  was  Mazarin,  however,  lest  she  should  take 
up  her  abode  in  Paris,  that  in  order  to  impress  upon  her 
the  extent  of  the  inconvenience  to  which  he  was  subjected 
by  her  advent,  and  how  little  it  was  anticipated  that  she 
would  prolong  her  visit,  he  gave  up  his  apartments  as  her 
temporary  residence. 

The  whole  winter  was  spent  in  festivals,  lotteries,  and 
masquerades,  from  which  the  king  absented  himself  when- 
ever Mary  de  Mancini  did  not  appear ;  or  devoted  him- 
self entirely  to  her,  enchanted  by  her  wit,  her  intellect, 
and  above  all,  her  unconcealed  affection  for  himself.  His 
attachment  was  too  palpable  to  escape  the  lynx-eyed  court- 
iers, who  looked  with  considerable  apprehension  on  its 
rapid  progress ;  for  the  strong  good  sense  and  quick  dis- 
cernment of  Mary  were  so  well  known,  that  all  those  whose 
ambition  led  them  to  desire  the  overthrow  of  the  minister, 
in  order  that  they  might  in  their  turn  exert  an  influence 
over  the  mind  of  the  king,  were  aware  that  chance  could 
not  have  opposed  to  them  a  more  formidable  adversary 
than  this  young  girl ;  who,  in  addition  to  her  mental  su- 
periority, was  daily  acquiring  new  beauty. 

Happy,  hopeful,  and  honored,  Mai-y's  eye  became  bright- 
er, her  complexion  more  vivid,  and  her  step  more  elastic ; 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  575 

while  the  singular  melody  of  her  voice  appeared  to  give 
an  added  and  a  potent  power  to  the  words  of  womanly 
wisdom  which  flowed  as  if  instinctively  from  her  lips.  All 
the  previous  passions  of  Louis  had  merely  afforded  sub- 
ject for  a  jest,  for  none  of  them  had  interfered  with  the 
interests  of  those  about  him  :  vanity  on  the  part  of  the 
king,  and  gratified  ambition  on  that  of  the  young  beauties 
whom  he  had  distinguished,  were  the  frail  bonds  by  which 
they  were  temporarily  linked  together;  and  so  unstable 
a  tie  could  produce  no  moral  effect  calculated  to  excite 
apprehension ;  but  the  case  was  now  widely  different. 
Habituated  to  the  servility  and  sycophancy  of  a  time-serv- 
ing crowd,  where  even  the  hearts  over  which  he  aspired 
to  reign  were  subjected  to  the  iron  pressure  of  expediency, 
eyes  had  hitherto  brightened,  and  lips  smiled  beneath  his 
flattery,  as  policy,  or  family  interests,  or  personal  ambition 
dictated  ;  and  Louis  had  been  equally  deceived  in  believ- 
ing that  he  loved  and  was  beloved.  Not  one  of  these  fair 
flutterers  had  acquired  the  most  remote  power  over  his 
mind  ;  not  one  had  been  enabled  to  make  him  feel  his  de- 
ficiencies, or  to  incite  him  tu  higher  and  nobler  aspirations 
than  those  of  a  mere  sensual  existence ;  while  the  words 
of  the  deep-thoughted  and  strongly-loving  woman  by  whom 
he  was  now  absorbed  awakened  him  to  higher  and  more 
worthy  views  and  desires. 

Anne  of  Austria,  who  had  scarcely  yet  overcome  her 
uneasiness  at  the  preference  of  the  king  for  the  Countess 
de  Soissons,  which  she  had,  as  she  flattered  herself,  termi- 
nated by  the  marriage  of  the  lady,  and  his  subsequent  in- 
clination for  Mademoiselle  d'Argencourt,  which  had  been 
concluded  by  a  cloister,  now  found  herself  plunged  once 
more  into  a  state  of  alarm,  far  better  founded  and  more 
rational  than  ever.  The  coquetry  and  vanity  of  the  count- 
ess had,  in  the  one  instance,  acted  as  her  allies ;  while  the 
real  or  imputed  treachery  of  the  young  lady  of  honor  had 
still  more  unequivocally  assisted   her  views  in  the  other. 


576  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

But  neither  vanity,  coquetry,  nor  treachery  were  to  be 
anticipated  from  a  woman  who  was  alike  careless  and  un- 
conscious of  her  own  attractions,  and  who  loved,  with  all 
the  enthusiasm  of  a  devoted  heart,  not  the  monarch  before 
whom  every  knee  bent  and  every  head  was  bowed,  but 
the  man  whom  she  had  invested  with  an  excellence  that 
she  worshiped  with  her  whole  soul. 

The  queen  did  sufficient  justice  to  the  high  and  earnest 
qualities  of  Mary  de  Mancini  to  feel  this  truth  deeply;  but 
Louis  was  no  longer  the  mere  stripling,  who  might  be 
checked  by  a  frown,  or  controlled  by  a  menace ;  and  she 
soon  discovered  that  the  marked  coldness  and  neglect  with 
which  she  affected  to  treat  the  niece  of  the  cardinal  only 
produced  an  increase  of  tenderness  and  deference  on  the 
part  of  the  king  himself,  that  evidently  consoled  Mary  for 
a  change  which  she  simply  considered  as  a  caprice  at  once 
unjust  and  explicable.  Satisfied  in  the  present,  without 
care  or  thought  for  the  future,  anxious  only  to  see  the  idol 
of  her  heart  equal  in  all  respects  to  the  vision  of  her  own 
fancy,  and  preeminent  in  all  manly  virtues  and  dignity  as 
he  was  in  rank,  she  moved  amid  an  atmosphere  of  light 
and  love  which  blinded  her  to  the  clouds  and  vapors  that 
were  gathering  about  her  path. 

A  word,  a  hint  from  the  cardinal  must  have  sufficed  to 
awaken  her  from  this  bright  dream ;  but  the  cardinal  ut- 
tered neither  word  nor  hint ;  and  while  the  marriage  of 
the  king  was  his  constant  theme,  he  either  did  not  see,  or 
affected  not  to  remark,  the  strong  attachment  which  had 
grown  up  between  the  young  monarch  and  his  niece ;  and 
which  could,  in  her  case,  only  result  in  a  regal  diadem  or 
a  broken  heart.  Neither,  as  we  have  before  remarked, 
did  he  evince  the  zeal  in  his  actions  which  he  exhibited  in 
his  speech.  He  proceeded,  as  he  said,  cautiously — but, 
as  Anne  of  Austria  was  shrewd  enough  to  perceive — lan- 
guidly, and  even  with  reluctance,  in  the  marriage;  and 
she  no  sooner  became  convinced  of  the  fact,  as  well  as  sus- 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  577 

picious  of  its  motive,  than  she  exerted  all  her  influence  to 
bring  the  alliance  to  a  termination ;  while,  although  her 
ambition  for  her  son,  as  well  as  her  natural  affection  for 
her  family,  led  her  to  desire  an  alliance  with  the  daughter 
of  Charles  V.,  she  still  learned  with  undisguised  satisfac- 
tion that  the  Duchess  of  Savoy  had  communicated  to  the 
cardinal  her  desire  to  see  the  Princess  Marguerite  the 
wife  of  the  French  king.  Like  himself,  she  was  a  de- 
scendant of  Henry  IV.,  and  was  allied  to  Mazarin  through 
the  Count  de  Soissons — a  fact  which,  in  default  of  allying 
his  niece  to  Louis,  must  render  the  marriage  most  desira- 
ble as  regarded  his  own  interests;  and  strong  in  this  con- 
viction, she  had  dispatched  a  confidential  person  to  Paris, 
ostensibly  to  solicit  the  hand  of  the  sister  of  Mademoiselle 
for  the  young  Duke  of  Savoy,  but  actually  to  treat  secretly 
with  the  minister  for  the  marriage  of  the  king  with  the 
Princess  Marguerite. 

The  former  negotiation  was  not  destined  to  succeed,  the 
cardinal  having  declared  that  he  would  offer  no  opinion 
upon  the  subject,  as  should  he  advise  Monsieur  to  conclude 
a  marriage  between  his  daughter  and  the  Duke  of  Savoy, 
he  might  imagine  that  he  desired  to  prevent  her  union  with 
the  king;  although  it  was  his  sincere  belief  that  His  Royal 
Highness  could  not  take  a  more  prudent  step,  this  being 
the  most  desirable  match  in  Europe,  while  he  was  con- 
vinced that  Louis  XIV.  had  no  affection  for  his  cousin ; 
but  that  he  should  absolutely  refrain  from  tendering  any 
advice — an  excess  of  forbearance  which  was  unhesitatingly 
attributed  to  his  latent  hope  of  seeing  his  niece  Mary  seated 
upon  the  French  throne. 

Finally,  Monsieur  declined  the  alliance,  desiring  the  en- 
voy to  assure  the  Duchess  of  Savoy  that  he  deeply  felt  the 
honor  which  she  had  done  him,  but  that  he  could  not  suffer 
his  daughter  to  marry  while  the  king  remained  single — a 
reply  which  startled  Anne  of  Austria,  and  excited  her 
utmost  indignation. 

VOL.   I. B  B 


578  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

The  envoy,  who  was  a  young  Piedmontese  count,  was 
himself,  meanwhile,  no  slight  object  of  curiosity  to  the  court 
— not  only  from  his  favor  with  the  ducal  family,  but  also 
from  the  fact  that  he  had  been  deeply  enamored  of  the 
beautiful  Marquise  de  Calux,  whose  death  by  small-pox 
had  affected  him  so  deeply  that,  some  time  after  her  de- 
cease, he  caused  her  coffin  to  be  opened,  and  although  the 
work  of  corruption  was  already  rapidly  progressing,  re- 
mained beside  her  body  above  an  hour,  with  his  lips  fast- 
ened upon  one  of  her  livid  arms.* 

M.  de  Verue  found  a  ready  welcome  from  Mazarin ; 
who,  before  his  return  to  Turin,  in  order  to  impress  him 
with  an  exalted  idea  of  the  magnificence  of  the  nation  with 
which  his  sovereign  was  anxious  to  form  an  alliance,  gave 
a  grand  banquet,  which  was  attended  by  the  king,  the 
Queen-Mother,  the  Duke  d'Anjou,  the  Queen  and  Princess 
of  England,  Mademoiselle,  and  all  the  leading  members 
of  the  court ;  and  at  this  fete,  despite  the  gravity  of  the  pre- 
late's rank  and  profession,  the  amusements  terminated  with 
a  ball  and  supper,  as  the  king  never  approved  any  festi- 
val at  which  he  could  not  dance,  while  Anne  of  Austria 
was  equally  stringent  on  the  subject  of  her  card-table. 
Before  the  commencement  of  the  ball,  the  cardinal  con- 
ducted his  royal  and  noble  guests  into  a  gallery  filled  with 
objects  of  art,  precious  gems  and  stuffs,  Chinese  wonders, 
and  every  description  of  costly  toys,  of  which  he  had  pre- 
pared a  lottery,  whose  every  ticket  was  a  prize,  and 
whence  a  cornet  of  gendarmes  carried  away  a  diamond 
ornament  valued  at  four  thousand  crowns,  and  Mademoi- 
selle another,  estimated  at  the  same  number  of  livres. 

This  extraordinary  magnificence,  which  had  involved  an 
outlay  of  between  four  and  five  hundred  thousand  livres, 
displayed  by  a  minister  who  had  arrived  in  France  penni- 
less, and  which  could  consequently  only  be  the  result  of 
excessive  national  depredations,  did  not  pass  without  severe 
*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpeusier. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  579 

comment  on  the  part  of  the  excluded  ;  who,  having  no 
share  in  the  profitable  festivities,  felt  themselves  at  liberty 
to  draw  such  deductions  as  they  saw  fit ;  but  its  success  at 
court  was  so  great  that  the  king  on  several  occasions  imi- 
tated the  example  of  the  minister,  to  the  benefit  of  the 
reigning  favorite. 

As  regarded  his  acknowledged  mission,  M.  de  Verue, 
however,  quitted  the  court  unsuccessful ;  but  he  had  sped 
somewhat  better  in  his  secret  undertaking,  although  noth- 
ing had  been  definitely  decided ;  and  meanwhile,  as  we 
have  already  stated,  the  cardinal  was  so  well  aware  that  all 
authority  was  gradually  passing  away  from  the  queen,  that 
he  exerted  all  his  subtilty  to  possess  himself  of  the  confi- 
dence and  attachment  of  Louis,  disregarding  the  mortifica- 
tion and  displeasure  which  he  generated  by  this  change 
in  the  bosom  of  Anne  of  Austria ;  and  even  so  far  exhibit- 
ing his  indifference  to  the  fact,  as  to  permit  himself  pub- 
licly to  remark  that  she  was  deficient  in  good  sense,  and 
displayed  more  attachment  to  the  house  of  Austria  than  to 
that  of  which  by  her  marriage  she  had  become  a  member ; 
that  the  late  king  had  been  justified  in  the  dislike  and  sus- 
picion which  he  had  exhibited  toward  her ;  and  that  her 
affected  devotion  was  a  mere  matter  of  policy,  as  she  had 
no  taste  for  any  thing  save  the  pleasures  of  the  table,  and 
cared  little  for  aught  beyond  them.* 

All  these  insulting  speeches  were,  as  a  natural  conse- 
quence, repeated  to  the  queen  herself,  and  considerably 
augmented  her  alarm.  Trammeled  as  she  was  by  her 
marriage  with  Mazarin,  expostulation  was  useless  ;  nor 
would  she  condescend  to  employ  it.  She  therefore  sum- 
moned a  secret  assembly  of  the  most  distinguished  council- 
ors of  state  and  eminent  advocates,  to  ascertain  whether,  in 
the  event  of  the  king's  marriage  without  her  consent,  it 
would  be  a  valid  one.  The  unanimous  decision  was  in  the 
negative;  and  M.  de  Brienne,  who  had  been  constantly  in  her 
*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 


580  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

confidence,  was  intrusted  with  the  important  task  of  draw- 
ing up  this  act,  and  promised  that  he  would  cause  it  to  be 
registered  with  closed  doors  by  the  parliament,  in  the  event 
of  a  secret  alliance  between  the  king  and  Mary  de  Mancini. 

Meanwhile,  unconscious  of  the  machinations  of  those 
about  them,  the  lovers  lived  on  in  a  paradise  of  their  own 
creation,  which  was  only  darkened  to  the  devoted  girl  by  a 
constant  recurrence  of  the  fearful  subject  of  the  king's  mar- 
riage. Some  of  the  historians  of  the  period  have  accused 
Mary  of  an  ambitious  desire  to  become  queen  of  France  ; 
but  others  have  rendered  her  more  noble  justice,  and  given 
her  credit  for  being  entirely  absorbed  by  a  passion  which, 
despite  the  unpromising  atmosphere  amid  which  it  was  in- 
dulged, was  at  once  too  absorbing  and  too  romantic  to  in- 
volve one  thought  of  self.  Certain  it  is,  that  even  had  she 
entertained  so  lofty  an  aspiration,  she  might  fairly  have 
been  forgiven  under  the  circumstances,  for  she  was  aware 
that  her  sister  Olympia  and  the  Duchess  de  Chatillon  had 
both  flattered  themselves  for  a  time  that  they  should  suc- 
ceed in  the  same  project;  and  that,  too,  at  a  period  when 
Louis  was  under  a  stringent  control,  which  lie  had  since 
in  a  great  degree  flung  off.  But  the  whole  anxiety  of 
Mary  appeared  to  center  in  her  earnest  desire  to  raise  the 
tastes  and  the  ambition  of  her  royal  lover,  and  to  incite 
him  to  overcome,  through  the  strength  of  his  natural  abili- 
ties, which  she  at  once  recognized  to  be  great,  the  defects 
of  his  early  education.  To  Mary  de  Mancini  it  was  that 
Louis  XIV.  was  indebted  for  his  first  appreciation  of  art 
and  literature,  and  an  acquaintance  with  the  names  of 
those  men  who  were  destined  to  illustrate  his  reign.  Noth- 
ing can  more  clearly  demonstrate  this  truth  than  the  fact 
that  Madame  de  Montespan,  on  her  domestication  in  the 
"  private  apartments,"  makes  the  following  statement : — 

"  The  king  had  made  under  his  preceptor  Perefixe 
merely  superficial  studies  ;  because  that  prelate,  by  the  ex- 
press command  of  the  Queen-Mother,  had  principally  at- 


THE     COURT     OF      FRANCE.  581 

tended  to  the  health  of  his  pupil,  whom  she  wished  should, 
above  all  things,  possess  a  good  constitution.  '  The  rest  is 
easily  acquired,  where  a  prince  has  a  proper  appreciation 
of  his  duties,  and  an  elevated  mind,'  was  her  frequent  re- 
mark, and  one  which  has  been  verified.  I  found  a  great 
number  of  Spanish  and  Italian  books  in  the  library  of  the 
private  apartments  ;  the  Pastor  Fido,  the  Aminta,  and  the 
Jerusalem  Delivered  appeared  to  me  to  have  hitherto  been 
the  favorite  works.  After  those  came  the  letters  of  Voi- 
ture,  the  compositions  of  Malherbe*  and  Balzac,f  the  fables 
of  La  Fontaine,!  the  satires  of  Boileau,§  and  the  pretty 

*  Francis  de  Malherbe,  a  celebrated  French  poet,  was  born  at  Caen 
about  1556,  of  a  noble  and  ancient  family.  He  settled  himself  in  Pro- 
vence, where  he  became  attached  to  the  household  of  Henry  of  Angou- 
leme,  the  natural  son  of  Henry  II.,  and  married  a  young  lady  of  the 
house  of  Coriolis.  Henry  IV.  granted  him  a  pension.  He  is  consid- 
ered as  the  father  of  French  poety,  of  which  he  settled  the  rules.  He 
was  the  first  who  elevated  the  genius  of  the  language  to  the  sublime, 
and  to  the  majesty  of  the  ode.  His  poetical  works  comprise  odes,  stan- 
zas, sonnets,  epigrams,  songs,  &c. ;  and,  beside  this,  he  left  behind  him 
a  translation  of  several  of  the  letters  of  Seneca,  and  another  of  the  thirty- 
thud  book  of  the  Roman  Histoiy  of  Titus  Livius.     He  died  in  1620. 

t  John  Louis  Guez  de  Balzac  was  born  at  Angouleme  in  1594.  An 
elegant  writer,  and  member  of  the  French  academy,  he  was  one  of  the 
reformers  of  the  language.  Beside  his  Literary  Dissertations,  he  pub- 
lished several  treatises,  such  as  Aristippa,  The  Barbon,  The  Prince,  and 
the  Christian  Socrates ;  but  he  owes  his  reputation  principally  to  his 
collected  Letters.     He  died  in  1655. 

t  John  de  la  Fontaine,  the  famous  fabulist,  was  a  native  of  Chateau 
Thierry,  where  he  was  born  in  1621.  He  was  an  indifferent  scholar; 
but  upon  reading  the  Ode  of  Malherbe  on  the  death  of  Henry  IV.,  his 
talents  became  apparent  to  himself;  and  he  forthwith  applied  him- 
self to  the  study  of  Horace,  Homer,  Virgil,  Terence,  Plutarch,  and 
Plato ;  after  which  he  wrote  his  poem  of  Adonis,  and  his  witty,  but 
licentious  Stories,  principally  versified  upon  the  tales  of  the  Decame- 
ron. He  owes  his  reputation,  however,  to  his  Fables ;  although  ho 
also  produced  several  other  poems,  such  as  Psyche,  the  Quinquina,  and 
some  operas.  La  Fontaine,  throughout  his  life,  devoted  himself  to 
pleasure,  and  was  always  embarrassed  and  needy.     He  died  in  1695. 

§  Nicholas  Boileau  Desprcaux,   the  celebrated   critic,  was  born   at 


582  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

comedies  of  Moliere.*  The  tragedies  of  Corneille  had 
been  read  also,  but  not  frequently. 

"  Until  my  arrival  at  court,  I  had  considered  Peter 
Corneille  as  the  first  tragic  dramatist  in  the  world,  and 
as  the  first  both  of  our  poets  and  writers.  The  king 
convinced  me  of  my  error.  Book  in  hand  he  directed  my 
attention  to  innumerable  faults  of  expression,  incoherent 
images,  outrageous  conceits,  and  sentiments  almost  always 
exaggerated  and  out  of  nature.  *  *  La  Fontaine  pleased 
him  more,  on  account  of  his  intuitive  ingenuousness.  *  * 
He  declared  him  to  possess  wit  without  artifice,  poetry 
without  fallacies,  satire  without  bitterness,  gayety  always 
well-timed,  a  great  knowledge  of  the  human  heart,  and  a 
perpetual  satire,  from  which  he  excluded  neither  the  great 
nor  merry. 

"  With  Boileau  he  was  pleased,  he  said,  as  with  a 
necessary  scourge,  which  could  be  opposed  to  inferior 
writers  and  to  bad  taste  ;  that  his  satires,  which  were  too 
personal,  and  consequently  illiberal,  he  disapproved ;  but 
that,  as  he  was  aware  of  this,  he  would  correct  the  habit 
in  spite  of  himself;    that  he  was   engaged  upon   an  Art 

Paris,  in  the  year  1636.  His  Art  of  Poetry,  his  Epistles,  and  his  Satires, 
caused  him  to  be  called  the  master  of  Parnassus.  He  was  occasionally 
illiberal  in  his  judgments ;  but  his  natural  disposition  was  nevertheless 
kind  and  generous.  He  was  the  friend  of  Racine,  Moliere,  and  La 
Fontaine.  Louis  XIV.  appointed  him  his  historiographer,  conjointly 
with  Racine,  and  settled  upon  him  a  pension  of  2000  livres.  Boileau 
was  the  author  of  the  comic-heroic  poem  in  six  cantos,  of  The  Reading 
Desk ;  and  the  translator  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Sublime,  of  Longinus. 
He  died  in  1711. 

*  Jean  Baptiste  Poquelin,  alias  Moliere,  the  celebrated  comic  dram- 
atist, was  a  Parisian,  whose  father  occupied  the  situation  of  court  up- 
holsterer. He  was  born  in  1620,  and  received  his  education  under  the 
Jesuits;  but,  carried  away  by  his  love  of  the  drama,  he  disregarded 
the  wishes  of  his  family,  and  in  the  pursuit  of  his  double  profession  of 
author  and  actor,  became  the  favorite  of  Louis  XIV.,  who  gave  him  a 
pension  of  1000  livres,  and  ultimately  acquired  the  world-wide  repu- 
tation which  he  now  enjoys.     He  died  in  1673. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  583 

of  Poetry,  after  Horace,  and  that  the  little  which  he  had 
read  to  him  of  his  poem,  led  him  to  anticipate  an  im- 
portant work,  as  the  French  language  would  improve  by 
the  aid  of  writings  of  this  description ;  and  that  Boileau, 
merciless  as  he  was,  would  immensely  benefit  those  who 
followed  the  profession  of  letters."* 

Thus  it  is  fully  evident  that  it  was  not  to  the  "  wit  of  the 
Mortemarts,"  celebrated  as  it  was,  that  Louis  owed  his 
still  limited,  but  nevertheless  graceful,  acquaintance  with 
the  most  famous  writers  of  his  time ;  while  it  is  equally 
certain  that  the  gentle  and  devoted  La  Valliere,  however 
well  she  loved  the  king  during  her  interval  of  favor,  was 
by  no  means  calculated  to  obtain  the  same  supremacy 
over  his  mind  which  she  temporarily  held  over  his  heart ; 
and  that  the  more  enlightened  among  the  courtiers  by 
whom  he  was  surrounded  were  little  likely  to  incur  the 
loss  of  his  favor  by  hinting  at  his  mental  deficiencies,  even 
had  they  not  been,  moreover,  aware  that  by  such  a  line 
of  conduct  they  must  inevitably  draw  down  upon  them- 
selves the  enmity  of  the  cardinal.  On  the  other  hand,  it 
is,  however,  certain  that  posterity  has,  by  some  extraordi- 
nary chance,  attributed  to  Louis  XIV.  an  excess  of  igno- 
rance, under  which  circumstances  remain  to  prove  that 
it  was  impossible  he  should  have  labored.  Thus,  for 
example,  we  read  in  an  old  and  well-established  English 
author  : — 

"  I  have  been  well  assured  that  the  illiterature  of  this 
grand  monarque  went  so  far,  that  to  the  last  he  could 
hardly  write  his  name.  He  formed  it  out  of  six  straight 
strokes,  and  a  line  of  beauty,  which  first  stood  thus, 
\  J \ 1 1  S  ;  these  he  afterwards  perfected,  as  well  as  he 
was  able.     The  second  form  was  LOUIS."t 

That  this  account  has  been  given  under  a  strange  mis- 

*  Memoires  de  Madame  de  Montespan. 

t  Anecdotes  of  the  English  Language,  &c.,  by  Samuel  Pegge,  Esq., 
F.S.A.     3d  edit.     Edited  by  the  Rev.  Henry  Christmas,  MA.    Sao. 


584  LOUIS    XIV.     AND 

conception,  is  made  manifest  by  the  document  still  in 
existence  in  the  original,  where  he  authorized  the  arrest 
of  the  Cardinal  de  Retz,  in  December  of  1652  ;  of  which 
the  body  is  in  the  autograph  of  Le  Tellier,  the  secretary 
of  state,  and  where  he  added,  in  his  own  hand,  the  injunc- 
tion, that  the  prelate  should  be  secured  living  or  dead. 
Louis  was  then  only  in  his  fourteenth  year ;  and  although 
the  writing  is  stiff  and  ungraceful,  it  was  even  at  that  time 
very  superior  to  that  of  many  of  his  court,  M.  de  Retz 
included ;  and  fully  equal  to  that  of  nine  tenths  of  the 
French  striplings  of  his  age  even  in  the  present  day. 
His  correspondence  with  Mary  de  Mancini,  moreover, 
exonerates  him  from  the  reproof  of  the  utter  ignorance 
which  has  been  attributed  to  him ;  while  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  very  epistolary  commerce  in  question 
tended  greatly  to  enlarge  his  mind,  to  elevate  his  ideas, 
and  to  purify  his  taste.  In  one  instance  we  can  trace  this 
fact  to  its  germ. 

It  was  to  Mary  de  Mancini  that  France  was  indebted 
for  an  early  recognition  of  her  immortal  comic  dramatist, 
Moliere,  with  whose  extraordinary  talent  she  first  became 
acquainted  through  the  medium  of  her  cousin,  the  Prince 
de  Conti,*  whom  she  was  one  day  reproaching  for  his 
long  and  unaccountable  absence  in  Languedoc,  and  who 
confessed  to  her  that  he  had  been  lingering  at  Beziers,  in 
order  to  enjoy  the  rich  comic  treat  afforded  by  a  company 
of  strolling  players,  whose  manager  proved  to  be  a  cer- 
tain Jean  Baptiste  Poquelin,  his  ancient  class-fellow  at 
the  Jesuit  College,  whom  he  had  only  expected  to  meet 
again  as  the  successor  to  his  father's  post  in  the  king's 
household. 

The  account  given  by  the  prince  of  this  marvelous 
genius  excited  the  enthusiasm  of  Mary,  who  forthwith 
desired  to  see  him,  and  said  that  he  must  come  to  Paris ; 

*  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Prince  de  Conti  had  married 
Anna  Maria  Martinozzi,  one  of  the  elder  nieces  of  the  cardinal. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  585 

to  which  M.  de  Conti  replied,  that  he  had  himself  been 
compelled  to  yield  to  the  force  of  a  talent  which  he  had  at 
first  felt  tempted  to  regret  in  a  man  in  the  position  of 
Moliere ;  and  had,  for  a  time,  urged  him  to  abandon  so 
equivocal  a  career;  while,  in  order  to  induce  him  to  do 
this,  he  had  even  offered  to  make  him  his  jjrivate  secre- 
tary,* leaving  him  free  to  write  for  the  stage ;  but  finding 
that  his  inclination  for  his  present  profession  was  too 
decided  to  admit  of  his  embracing  any  other,  he  had 
promised  to  forward  his  fortunes  whenever  an  oppor- 
tunity might  occur  to  befriend  him  ;  though  he  dared  not 
mention  him  to  the  king,  as  he  felt  convinced  that  the 
comedians  of  the  Hotel  of  Bourgoyne  would  revolt  against 
the  rivalry  of  a  mere  provincial  company ;  and  that  poor 
Moliere  would  only  experience  a  bitter  mortification, 
should  he  be  compelled  after  such  an  attempt  to  quit 
the  capital. 

Mademoiselle  de  Mancini  was  not,  however,  to  be  de- 
terred by  this  apprehension  ;  but  assured  the  prince  that 
he  might  at  once  summon  his  protege  to  Paris,  where  she 
would  guaranty  his  establishment;  and  on  the  evening 
of  the  very  day  upon  which  this  conversation  took  place, 
she  informed  M.  de  Conti  that  the  king  had  given  orders 
to  his  first  gentleman  of  the  chamber  to  send  for  Moliere 
and  his  company. 

It  was  in  vain  that  the  queen,  who  took  a  great  interest 
in  the  performers  of  the  Hotel  de  Bourgoyne,  represented 
that  the  new  actoi-s  could  not  appear  in  the  capital,  as 
there  was  no  theater  in  which  they  could  represent  their 
comedies ;  the  objection  was  no  sooner  advanced  than 
Louis  ordered  a  stage  to  be  erected  in  the  guard-room 
of  the  old  Louvre.  On  the  arrival  of  Moliere  at  Paris, 
the  Prince  de  Conti  presented  him  to  the  Duke  d'Anjou, 
requesting  for  him  his  protection ;  and  the  young  prince, 
delighted  at  once  to  have  a  company  of  his  own,  and  to 
*  Vie  de  Moliere,  par  M.  Petitot. 
B  I: 


586  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

have  discovered  a  new  source  of  amusement,  received 
liim  most  graciously ;  and,  by  permission  of  the  king, 
who  readily  entered  into  his  views,  authorized  him  and 
his  troop  to  assume  the  appellation  of  "  The  Company 
of  Monsieur,"  to  the  extreme  annoyance  of  the  rival 
establishment. 

On  their  first  appearance  the  new  performers  found 
themselves  honored  by  the  attendance  of  the  whole  court; 
and,  moreover,  discovered  among  their  audience  all  the 
actors  of  the  Hotel  de  Bourgoyne,  who  had  hastened  to 
satisfy  themselves  of  the  extent  of  the  danger  to  which 
they  were  exposed  by  this  unexpected  invasion  of  their 
privileges.  Moliere,  who,  like  many  other  comedians, 
flattered  himself  that  he  had  a  great  talent  for  tragedy, 
made  his  debut  in  the  Nicodemus  of  Corneille;  and,  ac- 
cording to  the  chronicles  of  the  times,  presented  a  very 
absurd  figure.  He  redeemed  himself,  however,  by  the 
introduction  at  the  close  of  the  principal  piece,  of  an 
entreaty  for  permission  to  "  contribute  to  the  amuse- 
ment of  the  greatest  monarch  in  the  world,  who  had 
caused  him  and  his  followers  to  forget,  in  their  eager- 
ness to  entertain  him,  that  His  Majesty  had  in  his  service 
excellent  originals,  of  which  they  were  only  inefficient 
copies,"  by  playing  before  him  one  of  those  light  inter- 
ludes which  had  acquired  for  them  a  certain  reputation 
in  the  provinces. 

This  compliment  to  the  artists  of  the  Hotel  de  Bour- 
goyne excited  great  applause ;  and  the  company,  author- 
ized by  the  assent  of  the  king,  enacted  the  Docteur 
Amoureux*  which  delighted  the  courtly  audience  by  its 
playfulness  and  wit ;  and  thenceforward  the  custom  was 
resumed  of  giving  a  farce  after  the  principal  drama. 

The  king,  enchanted  with  this  new  acquisition,  imme- 
diately desired  Moliere  to  establish  himself  in  the  capital; 
and  gave  up  to  him  the  hall  of  the  Petit-Bourbon,  which 
*  Vic  de  Moliere,  par  Voltaire. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE. 


587 


at  that  period  occupied  the  space  upon  which  the  colon- 
nade of  the  Louvre  now  stands;  and  had  been  pre- 
viously ceded  to  the  Italian  company  that  the  cardinal 
had  brought  to  Paris,  who  continued  to  play  there  with 
him  on  alternate  nights.  His  success  was,  however,  so 
unequivocal,  that  he  soon  incurred  the  jealousy  of  the 
actors  of  the  Hotel  de  Bourgoyne;  and  two  yeai-s  subse- 
quently, when  the  Petit-Bourbon  was  demolished,  in 
order  to  give  place  to  the  new  erections,  he  obtained 
a  grant  of  the  theater  of  the  Palais-Royal,  which  had 
been  fitted  up  at  an  immense  outlay  by  the  Cardinal  de 
Richelieu.* 

*  Vie  de  Moliere,  par  Petitot. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


Success  of  Moliere — Anxiety  of  the  Queen  for  the  King's  Marriage — 
Hopes  of  Mazarin — Firm  Opposition  of  Anne  of  Austria — Treason 
of  Marshal  d'Hocquincourt — Submission  of  the  Duke  de  Beaufort — 
The  Kiug  before  Hesdin — Precautions  of  Mazarin — Serious  Illness 
of  the  King — Mazarin  conceals  his  Wealth — A  Cabal — Madame  de 
Fienne  in  the  King's  Ante-Chamber — Recovery  of  the  King — Mary 
de  Mancini  in  the  Sick  Room — Exile  of  the  Conspirators — Journey 
of  the  Court  to  Lyons — Meeting  of  the  Courts  of  France  and  Savoy 
— The  Princess  Marguerite — Coldness  of  the  Royal  Suitor — The 
Duke  of  Savoy — Determination  of  the  King  of  Spain — The  Haud 
of  the  Infanta  offered  to  Louis  XIV. — Departure  of  the  Duke  of 
Savoy — Rejection  of  the  Princess  Marguerite — Departure  of  Madame 
Royale  and  her  Daughter. 

Thenceforward  the  admirable  dramatist  progressed 
from  triumph  to  triumph ;  while  the  impotent  satires 
which  were  lanched  against  him  from  the  rival  estab- 
lishment, and   which   were  wanting  in  the  raciness  that 


LOUIS  XIV.  AND  THE  COURT  OF  FRANCE.   589 

distinguished  his  own  productions,  rather  tended  to  en- 
hance than  to  detract  from  his  increasing  reputation. 

Meanwhile,  Anne  of  Austria  could  not  suppress  her 
alarm  on  perceiving  that  no  amusement,  however  novel 
or  exciting,  could  for  an  instant  divert  the  affections 
of  the  king  from  Mary  de  Mancini;  and  while  she  re- 
solved to  conceal  her  uneasiness  upon  the  subject  from 
the  cardinal,  she,  nevertheless,  continued  to  urge  him 
to  greater  exertion  in  the  negotiations  for  the  royal 
marriage ;  and  was  painfully  startled  upon  one  occasion, 
when  she  had  been  expressing  her  anxiety  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  her  son,  to  hear  him  allude  with  a  laugh  to 
the  report  which  had  been  promulgated,  that  Louis  XIV. 
contemplated  a  private  marriage  with  his  niece ;  whom 
he  declared  must  be  weak  indeed  should  she  place  any 
faith  in  the  pledges  of  a  sovereign  of  twenty  years 
of  age  ;  but  he  nevertheless  jested  at  the  idea  in  a  tone 
which,  to  the  excited  feai's  of  the  queen,  appeared  rather 
meant  to  elicit  her  own  sentiments  than  to  condemn  the 
ambition  of  Mary ;  and  she  accordingly  hastened  to  reply 
coldly  and  haughtily,  that  she  could  not  believe  the  king 
would  be  capable  of  so  unbecoming  an  act;  but  that, 
were  it  possible  he  could  entertain  such  a  thought,  she 
warned  His  Eminence  that  the  whole  of  France  would 
revolt  against  both  him  and  his  minister,  while  she  would 
herself  head  the  rebellion,  and  induce  the  Duke  d'Anjou 
to  imitate  her. 

It  is  asserted  that  Mazarin  never  forgave  these  bitter 
and  determined  words ;  but  he  was,  nevertheless,  wise 
enough  to  conceal  his  real  feeling,  and  to  protest  his 
determination  to  separate  the  lovers  by  any  means,  how- 
ever violent.  Nor  was  it  long  ere  he  consoled  himself 
by  the  conviction  that  he  required  no  queen  of  his  own 
blood  to  uphold  his  power ;  and  that,  in  all  probability, 
the  resolute  nature  of  Mary,  coupled  with  the  influence 
which    she    possessed    over    the    king,    might    ultimately 


590  LOUIS    XIV.     AND 

have  tended  rather  to  overthrow  his  authority  than  to 
sustain  it. 

Not  satisfied,  however,  with  the  declaration  which  she 
had  made,  the  queen,  a  few  days  afterward,  caused  the 
protestation  of  the  parliament  to  be  communicated  to  the 
cardinal,  who  thenceforth  found  himself  compelled  to  aban- 
don the  ambitious  hope  which  he  had  ventured  to  encour- 
age, and  determined  to  renew  his  attempt  to  procure  for 
Louis  the  hand  of  the  Infanta  of  Spain,  even  while  pur- 
suing his  negotiations  with  the  court  of  Savoy,  that,  in  the 
event  of  the  failure  of  either,  the  other  alliance  might  be 
accomplished ;  each  being  alike,  although  not  equally  ad- 
vantageous to  France  ;  for  while  a  marriage  with  the  Prin- 
cess Marguerite  would  afford  the  means  of  continuing  the 
war,  that  with  the  Infanta  was  a  sure  method  of  securing 
peace. 

Early  in  the  ensuing  year  preparations  were  comrr^r.- 
ced  for  continuing  the  campaign,  which,  on  chis  occasion, 
opened  by  an  act  of  treason.  The  Marshal  d'Hocquin- 
court  was  discovered  to  have  entered  into  a  treaty  with 
Conde,  and  made  an  engagement  to  deliver  up  Peronne  ; 
to  which  dishonorable  compact  he  was  said  to  have  been 
seduced  by  the  bright  eyes  of  Madame  de  Chatillon,  who, 
after  having  numbered  among  her  adorers,  not  only  the 
king  himself,  but  also  the  Duke  de  Nemours  and  the 
Prince  de  Conde,  had  amused  the  leisure  of  her  exile  by 
captivating  the  marshal,  who  had  been  unable  to  resist 
her  fascinations,  to  which  he  had  sacrificed  his  honor. 
The  plot  was,  however,  discovered  before  it  had  time  to 
take  effect,  and  the  marshal  was  superseded  in  his  com- 
mand ;  but  the  dereliction  of  M.  d'Hocquincourt  was  soon 
more  fatally  punished,  for,  having  joined  the  enemy's  forces 
and  advanced  to  reconnoiter  the  lines  at  the  siege  of  Dun- 
kirk, he  received  a  mortal  wound,  and  expired,  declar- 
ing his  sincere  regret  for  his  fault,  and  requesting,  as  a 
last   favor  from    the  king,  that  he   inisrht  be  interred  at 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  591 

Notre-Dame  de  Liesse ;  a  request  which  was  at  once  con- 
ceded. 

In  consequence  of  this  circumstance  it  was  decided  that 
Louis  should  join  the  army  shortly  after  Lent;  and,  on  the 
eve  of  his  departure,  the  Duke  de  Beaufort,  the  King  of 
the  Markets,  the  champion  of  the  people,  the  rabid  enemy 
of  the  cardinal,  and  the  rebel  who  had  braved  the  throne, 
bent  his  knee  in  submission  before  the  powers  he  had  de- 
fied, and  thus  left  only  the  prince  and  the  Cardinal  de 
Retz  the  declared  foes  of  the  monarchy. 

To  Louis  his  renewed  allegiance  was  welcome,  for  the 
duke  had  compelled  his  respect  by  his  dignified  and  firm 
bearing  during  his  exile,  and  by  the  fact  that  he  had  never 
condescended  to  adopt  any  unworthy  measures  to  shorten 
its  duration  ;  while  to  Mazarin  it  was  equally  acceptable, 
as  he  saw  in  him  only  the  brother  of  his  nephew,  the  Duke 
de  Mercceur,  and  he  was  consequently  anxious  to  number 
him  among  his  friends ;  to  effect  which  object,  he  bestow- 
ed upon  him,  on  his  reconciliation  with  the  court,  the  sur- 
vivorship of  the  admiralty  which  his  father,  the  Duke  de 
Vendome,  had  held  during  the  war.* 

On  Easter  Monday,  the  necessary  preparations  being 
completed,  the  king  left  Paris,  and,  accompanied  by  the 
cardinal,  presented  himself  in  person  against  Hesdin,  which 
had  just  declared  for  Conde  ;  but  finding  that  there  was 
no  hope  of  taking  the  town,  Mazarin,  being  unwilling 
that  Louis  should  be  subjected  to  the  humiliation  of  a  de- 
feat, resolved  at  once  to  proceed  to  Calais,  in  order  to  pre- 
pare for  the  capture  of  Dunkirk  ;  in  furtherance  of  which 
project,  with  a  view  of  intimidating  Spain,  he  had  formed 
the  alliance  with  Cromwell. 

During  the  absence  of  the  king  with  the  army,  the  Duke 

d'Anjou,  instead  of  accompanying  him  thither,  remained 

with  the  Queen-Mother,  who  continued  to  pass  her  life  as 

usual  between  the  church  and  the  card-table  ;  while  her  son 

*  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Steele. 


592  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

amused  himself  by  walking  with  her  maids  of  honor  on  the 
sea-shore  of  Calais,  where  the  court  was  then  residing, 
and  by  immersing  those  around  him  in  the  salt  water,  as 
well  as  in  purchasing  ribbons  and  stuffs  from  England,  of 
which  the  import  had  considerably  augmented  since  the 
recognition  of  the  Protector,  who,  during  the  visit  of  the 
court  to  Calais,  sent  Lord  Falconbridge  to  present  his 
respects  to  Their  Majesties,  which  he  accompanied  by  a 
present  of  some  fine  horses  to  the  king,  the  Duke  d'Anjou, 
and  the  cardinal.* 

Dunkirk  fell  into  the  power  of  the  royalist  troops  on  the 
14th  of  June,  but  the  rejoicings  consequent  upon  the  event 
were  abruptly  terminated  by  the  sudden  indisposition  of 
the  king,  who  was  attacked  by  scarlet  fever  so  violently  as 
to  cause  considerable  apprehension  for  his  life.  In  this 
emergency  Louis  gained  the  soothing  conviction  that  a  por- 
tion, at  least,  of  the  homage  which  he  received  came  from 
the  hearts  of  those  who  tendered  it.  The  queen  at  once 
announced  her  intention  of  retiring  to  Val-de-Grace,  in  the 
event  of  his  death  ;  and  his  brother  refused  to  leave  his 
bedside,  although  assured  that  the  disease  was  contagious  ; 
while  Mary  de  Mancini,  who  was  forbidden  the  entrance 
of  his  chamber,  spent  hours  of  anguish,  which  were  only 
solaced  by  the  messages  that  passed  between  the  royal 
invalid  and  herself  through  the  medium  of  a  confidential 
attendant.  The  Count  de  Guiche  and  the  Prince  de  Mar- 
sillac  were  his  constant  companions;  and,  encouraged  by 
their  devotion,  the  young  sovereign  exerted  himself  to  con- 
tend against  the  suffering  by  which  he  was  prostrated  alike 
in  body  and  in  mind. 

This  sympathy  was,  however,  by  no  means  general. 
Individual  interests  were  involved  in  his  danger,  which 
proved  more  powerful  than  attachment  to  his  person ;  and 
the  example  of  worldly  prudence  was  set  by  the  cardinal 
himself,  who,  on  the  tenth  day  after  the  king's  attack, 
*  Meinohes  de  Mademoiselle  de  Moutpensier. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  593 

aware  that  he  had  nothing  to  hope  from  the  Duke  d'Anjou, 
dismantled  his  apartments  of  all  their  precious  contents, 
and  during  the  night  dispatched  his  statues,  his  paintings, 
and  his  money  to  Vincennes,  with  an  order  that  they  should 
be  deposited  in  one  of  the  vaults  of  the  fortress ;  after 
which  he  made  advances  to  the  Marshal  Duplessis,  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  prince,  and  to  the  Count  de  Guiche,  his  favor- 
ite, in  the  hope  of  making  better  terms  with  Monsieur, 
should  the  evil  which  was  anticipated  indeed  take  place.* 

During  this  time  the  saloon  that  joined  the  sick  chamber, 
which  only  a  day  or  two  previously  scarce  sufficed  to  con- 
tain the  throng  of  courtiers  by  which  it  was  crowded,  be- 
came almost  deserted.  The  hourly  bulletin,  which  was 
posted  over  the  fireplace,  attracted  from  time  to  time  the 
anxious  eye  of  a  noble,  but  the  visit  was  a  brief  one ;  for 
the  atmosphere  breathed  of  contagion,  and  there  were,  as 
we  have  shown,  few  indeed  at  court  who  were  willing  to 
subject  themselves  to  its  influence.  The  most  constant 
attendant  there  was  Madame  de  Fienne,  the  friend  and 
confidant  of  Madame  de  Choisy.t  who  were  both  at  the 
head  of  what  was  called  the  cabal  of  Monsieur ;  although 
there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  young  prince  was 
utterly  ignorant  of  the  existence  of  any  such  party,  as  no 
action  or  expression  had  at  this  period  betrayed  the  slight- 
est desire  on  his  part  to  inherit  a  crown,  which,  with  all 
his  amiable  qualities,  he  was  ill-calculated  to  wear  with 
dignity  ;  and  which  his  aversion  to  every  species  of  exer- 
tion, and  his  decided  love  of  pleasure,  would  have  render- 
ed to  him  rather  a  trammel  than  a  boon. 

But  if  Philip  experienced  no  desire  to  place  himself 
upon  the  throne,  his  favorites  were  by  no  means  so  careless 
in  his  behalf.  Easy,  supple,  and  indolent  as  he  was,  tardy 
in  taking  offense,  readily  conciliated,  and  ever  willing  to 

*  Me  moires  de  Madame  de  Motteville. 

t  The  wife  of  the  ex-chancellor  of  Gaston  of  Orleans,  and  mother  of 
the  Abbe  de  Choisy,  the  author  of  the  Memoircs. 


594  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

repay  a  new  pleasure  by  a  new  concession,  they  flattered 
themselves  that  they  should  govern  under  the  aegis  of  his 
name  ;  and  already  manyiof  them  were  repining  that  Louis 
should  linger  so  long  upon  what  they  presumed  to  be  his 
death-bed,  and  thus  delay  the  wished-for  moment  when 
they  would  be  enabled  to  salute  his  brother  as  the  King 
of  France. 

It  was  with  the  hope  that  she  might  chance  to  be  the 
first  to  do  this,  that  Madame  de  Fienne,  on  the  pretext  of 
an  overwhelming  anxiety  for  the  young  sovereign,  came 
every  hour  throughout  the  day  and  night  to  the  saloon 
already  named,  and  watched,  stretched  along  the  ground, 
under  the  door  of  his  chamber,  to  pry  into  the  proceedings 
within.  One  night  the  king's  nurse,  chancing  suddenly  to 
leave  the  room,  detected  this  over-zeal,  of  which  she  hast- 
ened to  inform  the  queen  ;  who,  naturally  incensed  at  such 
a  proceeding,  rose  from  her  seat,  declaring  that  the  intrud- 
er should  forthwith  be  flung  out  of  the  window.  Fortu- 
nately, however,  both  for  the  safety  of  Madame  de  Fienne, 
and  the  dignity  of  Anne  of  Austria,  the  Duke  de  Crequi,* 
who  chanced  to  be  present,  held  her  back,  and  afforded 
the  offending  party  time  to  escape.! 

Nor  was  this  lady  the  only  delinquent ;  for  it  was  soon 
ascertained  that,  during  the  extremity  of  the  king,  Madame 
de  Choisy  had  written  to  the  Duke  d'Anjou  certain  cir- 
cumstances relating  both  to  the  queen  and  the  cardinal, 
with  a  freedom  highly  unbecoming  and  offensive ;  while, 
at  the  same  time,  M.  de  Brissac  (who  had  only  recently 
received  permission  to  return  to  Paris,  in  order  that  he 
might  be  treated  for  a  lingering  and  dangerous  disease  un- 
der which  he  had  been  laboring),  as  well  as  M.  de  Jerze, 
were  intriguing  with  Madame  de  Choisy  to  secure  the  lib- 
eration of  the    Cardinal   de    Retz,  which    they  hoped   to 

*  Charles  de  Crequi,  Prince  de  Poix,  Governor  of  Paris,  and  ambas- 
sador to  Rome  in  1662.     He  died  in  1687. 
t  Siecle  de  Louis  XIV.      Voltaire. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  595 

obtain  through  her  influence  over  the  mind  of  the  Duke 
d'Anjou. 

Meanwhile,  all  was  dismay  «and  despair  in  the  sick 
chamber  of  the  young  king ;  the  sacraments  had  been  ad- 
ministered to  him  without  eliciting  one  token  of  conscious- 
ness ;  and  the  priests,  superseding  the  courtiers  in  his  pri- 
vate apartments,  were  chanting  their  funeral  anthems  in 
saloons  from  which  the  decorations  of  the  last  festival  had 
not  yet  been  removed.  His  final  recovery  is,  indeed,  attrib- 
uted to  an  empiric,  who,  learning  that  the  court  physicians 
had  renounced  all  hope  of  saving  his  life,  was  furtively  in- 
troduced to  his  bedside  by  Mary  de  Mancini  and  his  nurse  ; 
and  who,  after  having  examined  him  with  great  attention, 
seated  himself  familiarly  on  the  bed,  exclaiming,  "  The  lad 
is  very  ill,  but  he  will  not  die  of  it."* 

The  prediction  was  verified :  the  directions  of  this  sin- 
gular physician  were  scrupulously  obeyed ;  and  the  young 
king,  who  had  been  about  to  exchange  the  brilliant  throne 
of  the  Louvre  for  the  sombre  vaults  of  St.  Denis,  rapidly 
progressed  toward  convalescence ;  and  so  soon  as  it  was 
ascertained  beyond  all  doubt  that  the  danger  was  at  an  end, 
the  queen  directed  the  Prince  de  Marsillac  to  wait  upon 
the  Duke  d'Anjou,  and  communicate  the  joyful  intelligence ; 
a  mission  in  which  the  Duke  de  la  Rouchefoucauld  entreat- 
ed that  he  might  join  his  son ;  to  which  request  the  queen 
consented,  on  condition  that,  while  the  prince  was  deliver- 
ing his  message,  the  duke  should  carefully  watch  the  coun- 
tenances of  Madame  de  Choisy  and  Madame  de  Fienne, 
and  report  to  her  the  effect  produced  by  so  unexpected  a 
piece  of  intelligence. 

No  commission  could  have  been  more  acceptable  to  the 
caustic  disposition  of  M.  de  la  Rochefoucauld,  who  loved  to 
study  human  nature  under  all  its  phases,  and  who  had 
"  ample  room  and  verge  enough"  in  the  scene  which  was 
so  soon  before  his  eyes ;  for,  with  the  exception  of  the 
*  Siecle  de  Louis  XIV.      Voltaire. 


596  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

Duke  d'Anjou  himself,  whose  expressions  of  delight  were 
earnest  and  genuine,  every  individual  by  whom  he  was  sur- 
rounded received  the  intelligence  as  the  undoubted  herald 
of  his  own  disgrace  ;  so  certain  did  they  esteem  it  that  even 
the  least  imprudent  among  them  would  be  exiled  under 
the  legitimate  indignation  of  the  Queen-Mother;  while  not 
the  slightest  gratification  which  the  Duke  de  la  Rochefou- 
cauld derived  from  the  errand  upon  which  he  had  been 
sent,  was  yielded  by  the  opportunity  which  it  afforded  of 
expatiating  to  the  pale  and  terror-stricken  audience  about 
him  on  all  the  details  of  the  miraculous  cure  which  had 
preserved  the  young  sovereign  to  the  love  of  his  faithful 
subjects. 

Couriers  were  immediately  dispatched  to  Paris,  and  into 
all  the  provinces,  to  announce  the  happy  event ;  and  mean- 
while Louis,  prostrated  by  the  voluptuous  languor  which  so 
constantly  succeeds  violent  and  dangerous  illness,  found 
his  best  and  most  welcome  resource  in  the  conversation 
and  care  of  Mary  de  Mancini,  who  seized  so  favorable  an 
opportunity  of  introducing  him  to  the  literature  of  France 
and  Italy,  the  delights  of  poetry,  and  the  engrossing  sub- 
ject of  history.  "  He  amused  himself  by  reading  enter- 
taining books  during  that  period  of  leisure,"  says  the  au- 
thor of  the  Steele  de  Louis  XIV.,  "  and  particularly  in 
reading  them  with  the  wife  of  the  constable,*  who,  like 
her  sisters,  was  full  of  intellect.  He  was  partial  to  verses 
and  romances,  which,  depicting  gallantry  and  heroism,  se- 
cretly flattered  his   propensities The  person  who 

directed  his  education  under  the  Marshal  de  Villeroy,  his 
governor,  was  what  it  behooved  him  to  be,  learned  and  ami- 
able ;  but  the  civil  wars  militated  against  his  education; 
and  the  Cardinal  Mazarin  was  willing  that  the  king  should 
not  be  enlightened.  When  he  attached  himself  to  Mary 
de  Mancini,  he  learned  Italian  with  facility  for  her  sake." 
Meanwhile  the  cardinal,  who  by  no  means  approved  of 
*  Mary  de  Manciiii,  afterward  married  to  the  Constable  Colonna. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  597 

these  perpetual  studies,  broke  in  upon  them  at  every  op- 
portunity with  the  gossipry  of  the  court  circle,  which  was 
always  sure  to  amuse  the  queen,  but  to  which  the  royal 
convalescent  lent  slight  attention,  although  he  was  induced 
by  these  means  to  sign  an  order  of  exile  against  M.  and 
Madame  de  Brissac,*  the  Marquis  de  Jerze,  the  President 
Perot  (who  was  in  the  interests  of  the  Prince  de  Conde), 
and  the  Countess  de  Fienne ;  while  the  queen  herself  dis- 
patched a  courier  to  Madame  de  Choisy,  to  inform  her  that 
as  she  was  deeply  involved  in  the  misconduct  of  Madame 
de  Fienne,  she  must  at  once  retire  to  one  of  her  estates  in 
Normandy,  an  order  which  she  received  with  uncontrolled 
mortification. 

Immediately  that  the  convalescence  of  the  king  admitted 
of  such  a  measure,  he  was  removed  from  Calais  to  Com- 
piegne,  and  thence,  after  a  short  interval,  to  Paris,  where 
his  attachment  to  Mary  de  Mancini  becoming  every  day 
more  undisguised,  the  queen  resolved  upon  hastening  the 
journey  to  Lyons,  which  had  been  decided  on  early  in  the 
spring,  and  which  had  at  once  a  declared  and  a  hidden 
object.  Its  ostensible  purpose  was  to  bring  the  king  into 
contact  with  the  Princess  Marguerite  of  Savoy,  who  was 
still  talked  of  as  the  future  queen  of  France ;  while  its 
real  intention  was,  by  so  decided  a  step,  to  urge  the  King  of 
Spain  to  concede  the  hand  of  his  daughter  to  his  sister's  son. 

While  this  affair  was  pending,  news  arrived  of  the 
severe  illness  of  the  Prince  de  Conde,  who  was  confined 
to  his  bed  at  Brussels ;  when  the  cardinal,  who  never 
forgot  that  he  was  of  the  blood-royal,  and  nearly  con- 
nected with  himself  through  the  marriage  of  M.  de  Conti, 
eagerly  seized  this  opportunity  to  effect  a  reconciliation, 
and  forthwith  dispatched  his  own  physician  to  the  assist- 
ance of  the  invalid,  who,  thanks  to  his  care,  was  soon  de- 
clared convalescent. 

*  Gabrielle  Louise  de  St.  Simon,  Duchess  de  Brissac,  sister  of  the 
Duke  de  St.  Simon,  author  of  the  celebrated  Memoirs. 


598  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

The  time  which  still  remained  before  the  court  could 
leave  Paris  was  constantly  occupied  in  festivities  of  every 
description,  of  which  Mary  de  Mancini  continued  to  be 
the  principal  object  to  the  king  ;  but  her  heart  was  heavy, 
and  tears  rose  unbidden  to  accompany  her  smiles.  She 
knew  the  errand  upon  which  Louis  was  bound ;  and  she 
shuddered,  as  she  acknowledged  to  herself,  that  the  peal 
which  rung  out  in  honor  of  his  bridal,  must  sound  the 
knell  of  her  own  happiness.  She  made  an  earnest  effort, 
in  consequence,  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  following  the 
queen  on  this,  to  her,  ill-omened  journey ;  but  Anne  of 
Austria  was  obdurate,  gilding  her  cruelty  with  the  assur- 
ance that  she  could  ill  spare  the  presence  of  Mademoiselle 
de  Mancini,  when  she  was  anxious  to  impress  Madame 
Roy  ale  with  a  high  idea  of  the  magnificence  and  beauty 
of  her  court. 

The  Abbe  d'Ambreti,  who  had  negotiated  the  affair  for 
the  Duchess  of  Savoy,  left  Paris  some  time  before  the 
royal  party,  in  order  to  apprise  his  mistress  of  the  period 
of  their  departure,  it  having  been  arranged  that  she  should 
quit  Turin  on  the  same  day ;  but  his  entreaties  that  he 
might  carry  with  him  a  positive  assent  to  the  marriage, 
were  only  met  by  the  reply  that  should  the  king,  on  see- 
ing the  Princess  Marguerite,  decide  in  favor  of  the  alli- 
ance, it  would  take  place,  but  that  no  pledge  could  be 
given ;  and  with  this  indefinite  answer  he  was  compelled 
to  take  his  leave. 

During  the  journey  Louis  was  in  the  most  joyous  spirits, 
and  talked  of  his  marriage  with  an  interest  which  wrung 
the  heart  of  Mary  ;  although  when  at  times,  tempted  by  the 
fineness  of  the  weather,  he  performed  a  portion  of  it  on 
horseback,  accompanied  by  Mademoiselle,  some  of  the 
queen's  ladies,  and  herself,  he  constantly  rode  by  her  side, 
and  conversed  with  her  with  the  utmost  tenderness.*  At 
Dijon  the  court  halted,  in  consequence  of  a  convocation  of 
*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  599 

the  Chambers,  which  had  been  assembled  more  early  than 
usual,  in  the  hope  that  the  presence  of  the  king  might  in- 
duce them  to  vote  a  larger  supply  than  they  were  ac- 
customed to  provide ;  and  during  his  stay  Louis  had  balls 
every  night,  while  the  Countess  de  Soissons,  from  whom 
he  had  long  withdrawn  his  notice,  attended  the  card-table 
of  Anne  of  Austria.  He  also  caused  refreshments  to  be 
served  as  a  part  of  the  entertainment,  by  which  means  he 
exonerated  himself  from  the  necessity  of  supping  with  the 
queen,  and  thus  left  himself  at  liberty  to  converse  with 
Mary  and  her  sisters. 

Every  evening  the  amusements  commenced  with  play, 
during  which  Hortensia  de  Mancini  held  the  cards  of  the 
king  while  he  retired  to  a  distant  seat  to  converse  with  her 
sister ;  and  although  a  change  in  the  weather  supervened 
after  the  departure  from  Dijon,  which  obliged  Mademoi- 
selle de  Mancini  to  confine  herself  to  her  coach,  Louis 
continued  to  travel  on  horseback,  and  to  devote  himself  to 
the  unhappy  girl,  whose  heart  was  breaking  as  she  moved 
along  at  his  side. 

On  reaching  Lyons,  where  the  troops  were  under  arms, 
Their  Majesties  alighted  at  the  church  of  St.  John,  and 
were  received  at  the  portal  by  the  archbishop  and  the 
chapter,  at  that  period  the  most  magnificent  in  France,  all 
the  canons  being  men  of  quality,  known  as  the  Counts  of 
St.  John  of  Lyons,  the  king  being  the  first  canon,  and  the 
Duke  of  Savoy  the  second. 

On  the  following  day  the  queen  received  intelligence  of 
the  approach  of  Madame  Royale,  and  all  the  court  assem- 
bled, in  her  apartments,  at  an  early  hour.  The  cardinal 
advanced  a  considerable  distance  to  meet  her,  being  fol- 
lowed a  quarter  of  an  hour  afterward  by  the  Duke  d'An- 
jou  ;  and  then,  after  a  similar  delay,  the  king  and  queen 
entered  their  coach,  accompanied  by  Mademoiselle,  and 
attended  by  Madame  Noailles*  and  the  Marshal  de  Ville- 

*  The  Duchess  de  Noailles,  wife  of  Adrien  Maurice,  Duke  de  Noail- 
les, marshal  of  France,  and  minister  of  state,  whose  original  and  col- 


000  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

roy.  When  it  was  ascertained  that  Madame  Royale  was 
approaching,  the  king  mounted  his  horse,  and  rode  forward 
to  meet  her;  but  he  soon  returned,  and  springing  from  the 
saddle,  approached  the  carriage  of  the  queen  with  a  face 
beaming  with  smiles.  In  reply  to  her  inquiries,  he  stated 
that  the  Princess  Marguerite  was  very  agreeable,  and  very 
like  the  portraits  that  he  had  seen  of  her  ;  a  little  tawny, 
he  added,  with  a  smile,  but  that  did  not  prevent  her  from 
being  well  made*  Anne  of  Austria  had  scarcely  time  to 
express  her  satisfaction  at  the  assurance,  when  the  two 
carriages  having  met,  both  the  queen  and  the  duchess 
alighted ;  and  the  latter  having  kissed  the  hand  of  the 
queen,  presented  to  her  the  Princess  Maurice  of  Savoy, 
her  eldest  daughter,  who  was  the  widow  of  her  uncle,  and 
next  the  Princess  Marguerite ;  after  which  all  the  party 
entered  the  royal  coach,  and  the  king  took  his  place  beside 
the  younger  princess,  with  whom  he  entered  into  a  conver- 
sation which  soon  grew  so  animated  and  familiar  as  to 
astonish,  and  somewhat  to  disturb,  the  punctiliousness  of 
Mademoiselle. 

Mary  de  Mancini  was,  meanwhile,  suffering  martyrdom  ; 
for,  occupying  with  her  sisters  one  of  the  carriages  in  the 
queen's  suite,  she  could  not  witness  what  took  place  be- 
tween the  king  and  the  Princess  Marguerite,  and  she  con- 
sequently hastened,  on  the  return  of  the  court  to  Lyons 
(forgetful  for  the  moment  of  all  the  pride  by  which  she  had 
hitherto  been  sustained,  and  which  was,  at  that  moment, 
prostrated  by  the  agony  of  her  suspense),  to  request  of 
Mademoiselle,  that,  while  the  king  was  conducting  Ma- 
dame Royale  to  her  apartments,  she  would  inform  her  of 
the  effect  which  the  appearance  of  the  princess  had  pro- 
duced upon  Louis.  The  haughty  daughter  of  Gaston,  to 
whom  the  prospect  of  seeing  the  sovereign  of  France,  and 
her  own  cousin,  united  to  the  niece  of  a  man  who,  how- 

lected  documents  afforded  material  for  the  "  Political  and  Military 
Memoirs  to  illustrate  the  Histories  of  Louis  XIV.  and  Louis  XV."  of 
the  Abbe  Millot.  *  Memoires  de  Madame  de  Motteville. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  601 

ever  she  might  find  it  expedient  to  secure  his  friendship, 
she  still  secretly  considered  as  a  mere  Italian  adventurer, 
was  not  sorry  to  assure  her  that  His  Majesty  had  declared 
himself  highly  pleased*  both  with  her  person  and  her  con- 
versation ;  a  reply  which  overwhelmed  poor  Mary  with 
despair,  while  it  is,  nevertheless,  certain  that  she  was  fully 
justified  in  her  reply,  inasmuch  as  the  vanity  of  Louis,  sat- 
isfied by  the  flattery  with  which  he  was  overwhelmed  by 
the  politic  duchess,  and  the  natural  and  easy  grace  of  the 
princess  her  daughter,  had  found  himself  enabled  to  throw 
off  his  natural  timidity  with  strangers,  and  to  converse  with- 
out the  constraint  which  he  had  dreaded  as  the  probable 
concomitant  of  such  a  meeting. 

Thus,  while  Madame  Royale,  delighted  by  the  recep- 
tion which  she  had  met  from  both  the  king  and  the  Queen- 
Mother,  was  congratulating  herself  upon  what  she  con- 
ceived to  be  the  undouoted  success  of  her  journey,  and 
listening  with  proud  complacency  to  the  solicitations  of 
the  courtiers,  who  were  eager  to  do  homage  to  what  they 
also  considered  as  the  rising  sun  ;  and  even  the  Princess 
Marguerite  herself,  who  had  in  vain  implored  her  mother 
to  forego  her  purpose,  rather  than  expose  her  to  the  possi- 
bility of  a  humiliation  at  whose  very  idea  she  revolted, 
was  abandoning  herself  to  the  hope  that  her  ambition  and 
her  heart  were  both  alike  about  to  be  satisfied  by  a  union, 
not  only  with  the  most  powerful,  but  also  with  the  most 
fascinating  monarch  in  Europe,  Mary  de  Mancini  retreat- 
ed in  silence  to  her  obscure  apartment,  to  weep  in  secret 
over  a  future  upon  which  she  did  not  dare  to  speculate. 

On  the  morrow,  however,  a  strange  and  startling  change 
supervened.  The  queen  had  taken  her  precautions  to 
prevent  the  meeting  of  the  lovers  ;  but  it  is  to  be  presumed 
that  they  had  proved  ineffectual,  as  it  is  certain  that  the 
princess,  refreshed  by  repose,  and  recovered  from  the  fa- 
tigue by  which  she  had  been  oppressed  on  the  previous 
*  Mcmoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 
VOL.  I. C  C 


602  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

evening,  must  have  appeared  to  greater  advantage  than  On 
the  previous  occasion,  when  both  body  and  mind  were  in 
a  state  of  suffering.  Mademoiselle  relates  that  she  was 
short,  well-made,  and  scarcely  appeared  to  touch  the 
ground  when  she  walked  ;  that  her  eyes  were  large  and 
tolerably  fine;  her  nose  prominent;  her  mouth  defective; 
her  complexion  very  dark,  although  not  unpleasantly  so ; 
her  manner  gentle,  despite  the  haughtiness  of  her  expres- 
sion ;  that  she  had,  moreover,  considerable  intellect,  and, 
as  her  conduct  afterward  proved,  that  she  was  clever,  and 
possessed  great  tact. 

Nevertheless,  as  we  have  stated,  a  few  hours  had  sufficed 
to  produce  a  startling  revolution  in  the  feelings  and  man- 
ner of  the  king.  He  had,  on  the  previous  evening,  warned 
his  immediate  suite  to  be  in  readiness  to  attend  him  to  the 
apartments  of  the  princess  on  the  rr  orrow  ;  but  it  was  re- 
marked that  he  prepared  for  this  visit  with  a  gravity  and 
listlessness  which  contrasted  powerfully  with  the  gayety  of 
the  preceding  day.  When  he  was  announced  he  found  the 
duchess  and  her  attendants  already  awaiting  him,  and  Ma- 
dame Royale  was  instantly  struck  by  the  alteration  which 
had  taken  place  in  his  deportment,  and  looked  mortified 
and  ill  at  ease,  while  the  Princess  Marguerite  retained  all 
her  self-possession,  and  appeared  to  be  unconscious  of  the 
change ;  nor  did  she  for  a  moment,  during  the  whole  of 
this  trying  interview,  lose  sight  of  what  was  due  to  her  own 
dignity.  The  court,  stupefied  by  so  unexpected  and  sudden 
a  coldness,  at  once  felt  that  all  idea  of  the  marriage  was  at  an 
end;  but  the  royal  visitors  were,  nevertheless,  overwhelmed 
with  demonstrations  of  courtesy  and  regard,  the  more  con- 
spicuous, in  all  probability,  from  the  fact  that  they  were  a 
mere  matter  of  hollow  expediency. 

What  rendered  the  position  of  Madame  Royale  doubly 
painful  in  this  emergency  was  the  fact  that  the  Duke  of 
Savoy  her  son  had  refused  to  accompany  her  in  her  jour- 
ney, or  to  appear  at  Lyons,  until  he  had  received  assu- 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  603 

ranee  of  the  success  of  her  negotiation,  and  that,  deceived 
by  the  warmth  and  coui-tesy  of  her  welcome,  she  had,  be- 
fore she  slept,  on  the  night  of  her  arrival,  written  to  assure 
him  of  the  happy  issue  of  her  hopes,  and  the  certainty 
which  she  felt  of  soon  seeing  the  Princess  Marguerite 
seated  on  the  throne  of  France ;  while  the  duke,  who  had 
impatiently  awaited  his  mother's  messenger,  lost  no  time 
in  setting  forth  for  Lyons,  in  order  to  share  in  the  triumphs 
of  his  sister,  and,  on  the  second  day  of  the  sojourn  of  the 
court  of  Savoy  in  that  city,  intelligence  consequently  ar- 
rived of  his  approach,  which  was  no  sooner  communicated 
to  the  king  than  he  advanced  two  leagues  upon  the  road  to 
meet  him. 

It  was  evening  when  he  reached  the  gates;  and,  accom- 
panied by  his  royal  host,  proceeded  at  once  to  the  apart- 
ments of  the  queen,  which  were  densely  crowded ;  where 
he  was  no  sooner  announced  than  he  sprung  forward 
toward  Her  Majesty,  thrusting  the  courtly  throng  to  the 
right  and  left  without  preface  or  apology,  and  laughing,  as 
he  advanced  beside  the  king,  with  a  familiarity  which  as- 
tonished all  who  heard  him.  On  reaching  the  spot  where 
the  queen  stood,  he  bent  his  knee,  but  she  raised  and  em- 
braced him ;  he  then  kissed  the  hand  of  Madame  Royale, 
who  welcomed  him  with  a  forced  and  painful  smile ;  after 
which  he  glanced  rapidly  around  him,  and  having  received 
the  presentation  of  the  principal  persons  assembled,  re- 
quested that  Hortensia  de  Mancini  might  be  pointed  out, 
paying  a  well-merited  compliment  to  her  beauty.  His 
good  looks  and  joyous  spirits  secured  him  the  immediate 
admiration  of  the  whole  court,  to  whom  such  an  apparition 
was  at  once  novel  and  exciting,  although  his  subsequent 
assumption  of  precedence  over  the  Duke  d'Anjou  raised 
the  resentment  of  the  young  prince  to  such  a  height  that 
the  queen  found  herself  compelled  to  sooth  his  wounded 
dignity. 

The   most  remarkable  feature  of  this  scene  was,  how- 


604  LOUIS     XIV.      AND 

ever,  the  extreme  kindness  and  condescension  with  which 
Anne  of  Austria  treated  Mary  de  Mancini,  who  had  antici- 
pated at  her  hands  a  very  different  reception.  Not  con- 
tent with  beckoning  her  to  her  side,  and  herself  presenting 
her  to  the  royal  guests,  she  addressed  her  so  constantly  and 
so  familiarly,  that  Mary  soon  found  herself  involved  in  the 
conversation  of  Her  Majesty  and  the  Duke  of  Savoy  ;  but 
even  while  thus  engaged,  she  was  lost  in  wonder  at  the 
beaming  expression  which  lighted  up  the  countenance  of 
the  queen,  and  formed  so  marked  a  contrast  with  the  rest- 
less and  struggling  physiognomy  of  the  Duchess  of  Savoy. 
Nor  was  the  deportment  of  her  uncle  less  mysteriously  tri- 
umphant; he  had  resumed  the  confident,  and  almost  inso- 
lent bearing  of  a  minister  who  felt  his  power,  and  rejoiced 
in  his  impunity. 

No  wonder  that  the  thoughts  of  Mary  strayed  from  the 
brilliant  scene  before  her  to  speculate  upon  the  probable 
meaning  of  these  extraordinary  demonstrations.  No  won- 
der that  wild  hopes  sprung  up  in  her  breast,  as  she  marked 
this  mysterious  change — aware  as  she  was,  that  it  was 
principally  with  a  view  to  estrange  the  king  from  herself 
that  Anne  of  Austria  had  hastened  this  meeting  with  the 
Princess  Marguerite.  Her  breath  came  thick  ;  tears  gath- 
ered in  her  eyes;  a  strange,  dull  sound,  wherein  all  the 
voices  by  which  she  was  surrounded  were  vaguely  and 
hopelessly  blended  in  her  ears,  made  her  brain  whirl ;  and 
it  was  only  by  a  strong  effort  that  she  saved  herself  from 
fainting. 

There  was  indeed  a  mystery ;  but  one  of  which  the  un- 
happy girl  was  far  from  entertaining  a  suspicion.  The 
wily  cardinal  had  been  careful  that  early  intelligence  of 
the  king's  journey  to  Lyons,  and  the  motive  by  which  it 
was  prompted,  should  reach  Madrid,  and  penetrate  even 
to  the  Escurial ;  where  it  had  no  sooner  been  made  known, 
than  Philip  IV.  exclaimed,  on  some  allusion  to  the  royal 
marriage  :   Esto  no  pue&e  scr,  y  no  sera,  "  that  can  not,  and 


THE     COURT      OF     FRANCE.  605 

shall  not  be;"  and  having  uttered  this  declaration,  he  im- 
mediately dispatched  Don  Antonio  Pimentelli*  to  the 
court  of  France,  to  offer  the  hand  of  the  Infanta  to  Louis 
XIV.  ;t  and  this  trusty  messenger  had  so  well  profited  by 
his  time,  that  at  the  very  moment  in  which  the  Duchess  of 
Savoy  was  entering  Lyons  by  the  Turin  road,  he  arrived 
at  the  opposite  gate  of  the  city  ;  where,  not  having  been 
allowed  an  opportunity  to  provide  himself  with  proper 
passports,  he  was  denied  admission  ;  and,  owing  to  his  per- 
tinacity, only  escaped  arrest  by  an  entreaty  to  be  privately 
conveyed  to  the  residence  of  the  cardinal,  to  whom  he  as- 
serted that  he  had  been  sent  on  a  secret  mission  by  a  high 
personage  ;\  but  as  some  doubts  were  expressed  on  the 
accuracy  of  this  statement,  the  envoy  ultimately  found  him- 
self compelled  to  add,  that  he  had  been  promised  access  to 
the  minister  through  a  young  man,  named  Colbert,§  who 

*  A  privy  councilor  of  Spain.  t  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle. 

X  Memoires  de  Madame  de  Motteville. 

§  Jean  Baptiste  Colbert  was  born  at  Rheims,  in  1619,  and  was  placed, 
in  1648,  in  the  bureau  of  the  secretary  of  state,  Le  Tellier ;  who  relin- 
quished him  to  Mazarin,  by  whom  he  was  appointed  his  personal 
steward,  and  in  1660  intrusted  with  the  office  of  secretary  of  the 
queen's  commands  (a  title  which  formerly  signified  a  person  author- 
ized by  virtue  of  a  verdict,  or  other  executive  act,  to  command,  in  the 
name  of  the  law,  the  fulfillment  of  obligations  or  engagements  announced 
in  the  said  act ;  which,  remaining  unsatisfied  after  a  lapse  of  three 
months,  required  renewal  in  order  to  render  a  seizure  legal).  By  the 
cardinal  he  was  subsequently  recommended  to  the  notice  and  favor  of 
Louis  XIV.,  who  made  him  intendant  of  finance.  After  the  dismissal 
of  Fouquet,  when  this  office  was  discontinued,  Colbert  retained  the 
direction  of  the  treasury,  with  the  title  of  controller-general  (1661). 
He  wrought  a  reform  successively  in  every  branch  of  the  revenue  and 
public  expenditure,  diminished  the  taxes  nearly  one  half,  and  succeed- 
ed, in  the  space  of  twenty-two  years,  in  augmenting  the  revenue  more 
than  28,000,000  livres.  Intrusted,  in  1664,  with  the  superintendence 
of  the  public  works,  arts,  and  manufactures,  he  established  chambers 
of  insurance,  increased  the  magazines,  opened  new  roads,  repaired  the 
almost  impracticable  highways,  and  constructed  the  celebrated  canal 
of  Languedoc.     Under  his  administration  fine  cloths,  costly  silks,  stain- 


606  LOUIS     XXV.     AND 

was  confidentially  employed  in  his'  bureau.  On  this  assu- 
rance, he  was  conducted  to  the  presence  of  Colbert,  who, 
having  ratified  his  statement,  lost  no  time  in  introducing 
him  to  the  minister,  and  the  result  of  the  interview  was  a 
visit  from  Mazarin  to  the  queen,  long  after  she  had  retired 
to  rest.  On  his  entrance,  Anne  of  Austria  rose  on  her  pil- 
low with  a  look  of  alarm,  which  was,  however,  quickly  dis- 
pelled by  the  first  exclamation  that  he  uttered. 

"  I  have  come  to  tell  you,  madam,  a  piece  of  news  which 
Your  Majesty  never  anticipated,  and  which  will  astonish 
you  amazingly."* 

"  Is  peace  proclaimed  V  asked  the  queen,  incredulously. 

"  More  than  peace,"  was  the  triumphant  reply  ;  "  for 
the  Infanta  brings  it  in  her  hand  as  a  portion  of  her 
dower." 

This  communication  was  made  to  Anne  of  Austria  on 
the  night  of  the  29th  of  November ;  and  no  more  welcome 
event  could  have  gladdened  to  her  the  close  of  the  year 
1658. 

A  delicate  task  remained,  however,  to  be  accomplished. 
The  alliance  with  Spain  was  secured ;  and  although  the 
cardinal  had  winced  at  the  condition  annexed  to  this  con- 
cession, which  required  the  free  and  full  pardon  of  the 
Prince  de  Conde  and  all  those  who  had  embraced  his 
cause,  the  queen,  absorbed  by  the  one  delightful  idea  that 
the  dream  of  her  ambition  was  about  to  become  realized, 
had  no  regret  to  spare  to  so  comparatively  unimportant 

ed  leathers,  ornamented  earthenware,  articles  of  tin  and  steel,  and 
looking-glasses,  were  originally  manufactured  in  France.  It  was  he 
who  founded  the  Academy  of  Literature  (Inscriptions  et  Belles  Let- 
tres)  in  1663 ;  the  Academy  of  Science  in  1666  ;  and  the  Academy  of 
Architecture  in  1671.  Appointed  to  the  ministry  of  the  marine  in  1669, 
he  established  the  Indian  companies ;  formed  arsenals  at  Brest,  Toulon, 
Dunkirk,  and  Havre ;  founded  the  port  of  Rochefort ;  organized  the 
colonies  of  Cayenne  and  Madagascar,  and  accomplished  many  other 
great  national  works.  He  died  in  1683. 
*  Dreux  du  Radier. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  607 

a  consideration ;  while,  even  amid  her  joy,  she  was  com- 
pelled to  feel  the  embarrassment  of  her  position  toward 
the  Duchess  of  Savoy,  who,  although  she  was  too  well 
trained  to  the  manner  of  courts  to  entertain  a  doubt  that 
her  mission  had  failed,  had  as  yet  received  no  official  inti- 
mation to  that  effect;  and  also  to  admit  the  prudence  of 
the  cardinal's  suggestion,  that,  as  the  articles  of  the  treaty 
would  doubtless  necessitate  long  deliberation,  and  that 
much  would  depend  upon  the  court  of  France  dissimula- 
ting their  anxiety  on  the  twofold  subject  of  the  marriage 
and  the  peace,  she  must  make  an  effort  to  disguise  her  sat- 
isfaction, and  the  extent  of  the  concessions  which  she  ap- 
peared at  that  moment  so  willing  to  yield  in  order  to  se 
cure  them. 

Having  succeeded  in  impressing  upon  the  conviction  of 
Anne  of  Austria  the  immense  importance  of  these  points, 
Mazarin  next  undertook  to  relieve  her  from  the  ungracious 
task  of  communicating  the  change  of  purpose  which  had 
supervened  since  her  arrival,  to  Madame  Royale  ;  to  whom 
it  was  agreed  that  he  should  communicate,  in  strict  confi- 
dence, that  a  vague  hope  had  just  presented  itself  of  his 
being  enabled  to  accomplish  an  alliance  with  Spain ;  in 
order  to  effect  which,  as  the  faithful  minister  of  the  French 
nation,  he  felt  bound  to  exert  all  his  energies ;  for,  bur- 
dened as  he  was  with  the  whole  business  of  the  state,  he 
did  not  consider  himself  authorized  to  reject  proposals 
which  would  insure  to  it  an  advantageous  peace ;  but 
that,  should  the  negotiations  consequent  upon  the  marriage 
involve  insurmountable  difficulty,  he  was  to  pledge  his 
word  to  the  court  of  Savoy,  that  he  would  use  all  his 
influence  to  conclude  an  alliance  with  the  Princess  Mar- 
guerite. 

This  was  the  solution  of  the  enigma  which  had  bewil- 
dered the  unfortunate  Mary  de  Mancini,  and  the  true  cause 
of  the  favor  which  she  had  suddenly  experienced  from  the 
queen,  who  saw  in  the  attachment  of  the  cardinal's  niece 


608  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

an  added  pretext  for  breaking  off  a  marriage  which  had 
become  distasteful  in  her  eyes,  since  it  had  offered  even  a 
momentary  obstacle  to  the  wish  which  was  nearest  to  her 
heart — never  pausing  to  reflect  that  the  same  passion  might 
hereafter  interfere  with  the  very  alliance  upon  which  she 
now  dwelt  with  mingled  pride  and  joy. 

The  day  succeeding  that  on  which  the  Duke  of  Savoy 
joined  the  court,  the  city  of  Lyons  gave  a  grand  ball  to 
Their  Majesties  at  the  Town-Hall,  where  the  Count  de 
Lausale,  the  provost  of  the  merchants,  received  the  royal 
and  noble  guests  at  the  foot  of  the  stair-case,  and  conducted 
them,  in  the  blaze  of  a  multitude  of  wax-lights,  to  the  great 
hall,  in  which  a  magnificent  banquet  had  been  prepared.* 
The  king  first  led  out  Mademoiselle,  and  subsequently 
the  Princess  Marguerite,  with  whom  he  had  never  entered 
into  conversation  since  their  first  meeting;  and  having 
made  this  necessary  concession  to  etiquet,  he  gave  his  hand 
to  Mary  de  Mancini,  near  whom  he  continued  throughout 
the  remainder  of  the  night.  The  Duke  of  Savoy  declined 
dancing,  as  he  would  not  yield  precedence  to  Monsieur, 
who  had  already  taken  his  place ;  but  the  ball  was  no 
sooner  terminated  than  he  seized  an  opportunity  of  de- 
claring, in  the  hearing  of  Mademoiselle,  that  he  had  been 
dying  to  dance  all  the  evening,  and  should  immediately 
dispatch  a  courier  to  Chambery,  vvith  orders  for  a  ball  to 
take  place  there  on  the  following  night,  that  he  might  amuse 
himself  in  his  turn.  When  the  king  and  queen  were  pre- 
paring to  retire,  he  took  his  leave,  announcing  his  intention 
to  quit  Lyons  on  the  morrow,  to  the  great  satisfaction  of 
Anne  of  Austria,  who  thus  saw  one  difficulty  overcome — 
the  impetuous  nature  of  the  duke,  which  was  well  known 
to  her,  having  led  her  to  apprehend  the  outbreak  of  his  in- 
dignation when  the  failure  of  the  king's  marriage  with  his 
sister  should  be  made  public. 

Early  in  the  morning  he  accordingly  left  the  city,  after 
*  Gazette,  7th  December,  1658. 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  609 

having  paid  a  brief  visit  to  the  Count  and  Countess  de 
Soissons,  and  taken  several  turns  in  the  Place  Bellecour, 
where  he  amused  himself  by  leaping  over  the  low  walls  of 
the  Mall ;  and  on  getting  into  his  carriage  to  depart,  he  ex- 
claimed, bitterly,  "  Farewell,  France,  forever  !  I  leave 
you  without  one  regret."*  It  was  no  secret  that  Madame 
Royale  had  acted  throughout  the  affair  contrary  both  to  his 
own  advice  and  that  of  his  council ;  and  when  he  found 
that  no  allusion  was  made  throughout  the  day  to  the  sub- 
ject of  her  errand,  either  by  the  king  or  his  minister,  he  at 
once  concluded  that  it  had  failed,  and  determined  not  to 
await  the  affront  which  he  perceived  to  be  prepared  for  his 
family. 

M.  de  Savoy  had  no  sooner  departed  than  the  duchess,  re- 
solving to  have  an  explicit  understanding  with  Mazarin,  who 
had  been  confined  to  his  room  for  several  days  with  gout, 
drove  to  his  residence,  and  demanded  an  interview.  Ru- 
mors had  reached  her  of  the  arrival  of  the  Spanish  envoy, 
and  she  had  also  received  hints  of  the  mission  with  which 
he  was  intrusted.  Accordingly,  when  she  was  introduced, 
she  announced  that  she  had  come  to  request  from  His 
Eminence  a  definitive  answer,  relative  to  the  proposed 
marriage  between  the  king  and  her  daughter,  reproach- 
ing him,  at  the  same  time,  with  having  induced  her  to 
leave  Turin  only  to  see  him  enter  into  a  treaty  with 
Spain. t 

The  undignified  excitement  which  she  exhibited  at  once 
induced  the  cardinal  to  profit  by  so  valuable  an  opportu- 
nity of  abridging  the  discussion ;  and  he,  consequently, 
without  any  preamble,  avowed  that  she  had  been  rightly 
informed,  and  that  he  had  already  commenced  negotia- 
tions with  Spain  for  the  hand  of  the  Infanta,  as  he  consid- 
ered it  his  imperative  duty  to  secure  to  France,  by  any 
legitimate  means,  a  peace  which  was  so  important  to  her 
interests. 

*  Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier.  t  lb. 

cc* 


610  LOUIS     XIV.     AND 

The  calmness  with  which  he  made  an  acknowledgment 
so  injurious  to  her  pride  aroused  all  the  ire  of  the  daugh- 
ter of  Henry  IV.,  and  the  indignation  of  a  mother  insulted 
in  her  tenderest  affections ;  and  the  mortification  of  Ma- 
dame Royale,  upon  thus  finding  herself  subjected  to  an 
affront  which  exposed  her  to  the  laughter  of  all  Europe, 
was  so  great,  that,  in  the  excess  of  her  passion,  she  at 
length  beat  her  head  against  the  wall  near  which  she  was 
seated — a  violence  which  so  alarmed  the  cardinal,  that  he 
hastened  to  pacify  her  by  the  assurance,  previously  agreed 
between  the  queen  and  himself,  that  in  the  event  of  any 
impediment  to  the  Spanish  alliance,  the  king  should  be  con- 
sidered as  betrothed  to  the  Princess  Marguerite. 

The  duchess  having,  however,  lost  all  faith  in  the  prom- 
ises of  Mazarin,  demanded  a  written  declaration  to  that 
effect,  to  which  the  minister  agreed ;  and  a  document  was 
accordingly  drawn  up,  setting  forth,  that  should  Louis 
XIV.  not  find  himself  compelled,  for  the  welfare  of  Christ- 
ianity and  of  his  own  kingdom,  to  marry  the  Infanta  of 
Spain,  he  would  ally  himself  to  the  Princess  Marguerite  of 
Savoy. 

This  paper  was  signed  by  the  king  himself,  and  some  of 
the  state  secretaries ;  and  when  it  was  transmitted  to  Ma- 
dame Royale,  anxious  either  to  conceal  as  much  as  possi- 
ble the  affront  to  which  she  had  been  subjected,  or  believ- 
ing, like  many  others,  that  Philip  IV.  would  accompany 
his  concession  with  terms  which  the  honor  of  France  would 
compel  the  cardinal  to  refuse,  she  readily  consented  to  sup- 
press her  annoyance,  and  to  part  upon  friendly  terms  with 
her  royal  relatives.  She  could  not,  however,  wholly  con- 
ceal her  chagrin,  although  she  affected  to  display  with  great 
exultation  a  variety  of  jewels  and  perfumes  which  had  been 
presented  to  her  by  Mazarin. 

Far  different  was  the  demeanor  of  her  daughter:  through- 
out the  day,  which  was  to  be  the  last  of  her  residence  with 
the  French  court,  the  Princess  Marguerite  preserved  the 


THE     COURT     OF     FRANCE.  611 

same  graceful  composure  by  which  she  had  been  charac- 
terized since  her  arrival ;  her  courtesy  to  those  around  her 
continued  undiminished  ;  while  she  appeared  rather  like  a 
mere  spectator  of  the  events  which  were  taking  place  about 
her  than  one  so  vitally  interested  in  their  issue ;  and  thus, 
although  after  their  departure  many  witticisms  were  utter- 
ed on  the  subject  of  the  duchess,  the  name  of  the  princess 
was  never  mentioned  save  with  admiration  and  respect. 


END    OF    VOL.    I. 


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